MARY  LYON 


HER  LIFE  STORY   1 


Ob  !  may  I  join  the  choir  invisible 

Of  those  immortal  dead  who  live  again 

In  minds  made  better  by  their  presence- 


Copy right,  1897, 


Life  Story  of  Mary  Lyon 


Founder  of  Mount  Holyoke  College 


Minneapolis 

The  Beard  Art  and  Stationery  Co* 
1897 


7 


HpltRY  MORSE  STEPHEN*. 

To  the  young  women  of  the  present 
day  this  story  of  Mary  Lyon's  lite  is 
affectionately  i  ascribed . 

MRS.  JOHN  DOUGLAS. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

I.  EARLY  DAYS,  -        13 

II.  SCHOOLS  IN  LONDONDERRY,  BUCKLAND  AND  IPSWICH,     22 

III.  NEW  PLANS,  37 

IV.  QUALIFICATIONS  FOR  HER  WORK,    -  -       46 
V.  MOUNT  HOLYOKE  FEMALE  SEMINARY,  -  51 

VI.  FIRST  GRADUATION,  60 

VII.  METHODS  OF  GOVERNMENT,       -  62 

VI I F.  PLANS  FOR  PROMOTING  CHRISTIAN  GROWTH,  -       69> 

IX.  CO-OPERATION  OF  TEACHERS,  -  72 

X.  ENDS  ACCOMPLISHED,  74 

XI.  LAST  DAYS,  78 

XII.  TESTIMONIALS  AFTER  DEATH,  84 

XIII.  ABIDING  INFLUENCES,    -  94 

XIV.  MOUNT  HOLYOKE  COLLEGE,  -       99- 


865859 


MARY    LYON    HALL. 


INTRODUCTION. 


It  has  been  wisely  saic^that  the  greatest  statues 
require  least  drapery. 

Certainly,  the  men  and  women  who  have  been 
most  useful  require  least  eulogy. 

The  object  of  this  sketch  is  to  give  in  fewest 
words  the  essence  of  a  noble  life.  Miss  Lyon's 
work  can  be  better  seen,  from  this  standpoint,  in 
the  History  of  Time  than  from  any  former  one, 
and  now,  as  her  child,  The  Mount  Holyoke  Semi- 
nary is  rising  as  a  Phoenix  from  its  ashes,  it  seems 
desirable  that  we  should  review  it. 

President  Hitchcock,  of  Amherst  College,  assisted 
by  several  ladies  who  had  intimately  known  her, 
prepared  a  memoir  of  Miss  Lyon  soon  after  her 
death. 

This  has  been  widely  circulated  and  highly 
prized  in  America,  in  England  and  in  some  of 
the  islands  of  the  sea.  The  American  Tract 
Society,  in  1858,  published  a  review  of  this  work. 


Both  these  volumes  are  still  in  circulation,  but 
it  has  been  thought  that  a  brief  abstract  of  them 
would,  in  this  busy  day,  be  more  extensively 
read. 

To  her  pupils,  and  to  the  children  of  her  per- 
sonal friends,  this  short  sketch  could  never  take 
the  place  of  the  larger  works,  but,  with  the 
blessing  of  God,  it  may  serve  to  widen  the 
streams  of  their  influence. 

Dr.  Hitchcock  says  in  the  closing  words  of  his 
preface:  " Personally,  I  am  grateful  that  I  have 
been  called  to  examine  and  scrutinize  a  character 
so  worthy  of  imitation.  Rarely,  if  ever,  has  any 
uninspired  history  been  so  profitable  to  me." 

Christ,  of  course,  is  the  only  ultimate  standard 
by  which  all  human  excellence  must  be  measured, 
but  it  is  most  helpful  to  contemplate  those  who 
standing  on  our  own  level,  have  made  their  lives 
potential. 

To  the  Divinity  that  guided,  rather  than  to  the 
instrument  employed,  is  the  honor  justly  due. 
Mary  Lyon,  as  she  looks  down  from  "the  great 
cloud  of  witnesses,"  if  permitted  to  cheer  on  the 
militant  pilgrim,  would  say,  as  she  always  did 
when  here,  "To  God  be  all  the  glory." 

It  is  believed  this  review  will  prove  an  incentive, 
especially  to  the  Young  Ladies  of  the  present  day, 

10 


many  of  whom  have  never  yet  heard  of  Mary 
Lyon.  It  will  show  them  that  they  "Can  make 
their  lives  sublime"  by  cultivating  her  principles  and 
her  fidelity,  even  though  never  called  ^to  found  a 
Seminary.  It  will  illuminate  the  truth  that  "the 
entrance  of  God's  Word  giveth  light"  and  few  can 
read  without  profit  the  story  of  her  pilgrimage  to 
the  Eternal  shores. 

If  it  should  prove  an  inspiration  to  any,  all 
who  know  her  will  rejoice,  and  the  compiler  will 
be  abundantly  repaid. 


11 


LIFE  STORY  OF  MARY  LYON. 
L 

EARLY  DAYS. 

Among  the  mountains  and  sheltered  dells  of 
New  England,  there  have  been  many  obscure 
homes,  where  "the  finest  immortelles"  have  been 
gathered  .for  the  Father's  House  above. 

On  earth  ,they  have  been  seed-sowers.  The  four 
winds  of  Heaven  have  scattered  the  seed  sown, 
and  the  sowers,  now  in  the  Paradise  of  God,  are 
bringing  in  the  sheaves. 

One  of  these  homes,  long  to  be  remembered,  was 
in  the  little  mountain  town  of  Buckland,  Franklin 
County,  Massachusetts.  For  long  years,  it  had 
been  consecrated  by  the  prayer, that  the  children, 
and  the  children's  children,  to  the  latest  genera- 
tion, might  be  a  seed  to  serve  God. 

There, Mary  Lyon,  of  cherished  memory,  was 
born,  one  hundred  years  ago! 

13 


It  is  recorded  of  her  Father  that  altho'  a  man 
of  much  force,  he  was  never  known  to  speak  an 
angry  word.  " Few  words  but  highest  praise." 

Her  mother  was  a  woman  of  vigorous  mind 
and  practical  pietv^  From  her  the  germ  of 
Mary's  character  chiefly  received  the  stamp  which 
decided  its  future  growth. 

Yet,  as  Dr.  Hitchcock  has  well  said:  "It  is  not 
known  how  many  of  her  principles  of  action  can 
be  directly  traced  to  parental  training,  for  oft- 
times  the  descending  stream  of  influence  owes  its 
character  to  the  salt  which  was  cast  into  it  by 
some  hand,  at  a  point  so  high  that  it  has  ceased 
to  be  acknowledged  or  even  known." 

It  has  been  said  "She  was  the  child  of  poverty." 
Yet  her  family  was  not  oppressively  poor.  On 
that  rock -bound  farm,  industry  and  economy  were 
in  constant  demand,  but  theirs  was  the  poverty  of 
the  pioneer,  which  has  been  truly  said  to  be,  in 
reality,  "  No  poverty  at  all." 

The  wants  were  simple,  therefore  the  supply  was 
ample.  No  idleness  or  luxury  was  there — but  they 
lived  in  mental  freedom  and  a  broad  outlook. 
Want  was  made  to  walk  so  gracefully  within  that 
circle  of  limited  means,  that  even  when  left  a 
widow,  with  seven  small  children,  the  dear  mother 
had  time  to  enjoy  the  garden  of  flowers,  and  had 

14 


the  wherewithal  to  aid  a  more  restricted  neighbor. 
It  was  a  wild,  romantic  farm,  but  nothing  was  left 
to  take  its  own  way.  She  was  busy  early  and 
late,  directing  all  the  work,  and  cultivating  the  Olive 
Plants  around  her  table— but  the  roses,  pinks,  and 
peonies  were  never  overlooked. 

Behind  their  dwelling  was  a  craggy  cliff,  and  it 
was  their  favorite  pastime  to  climb  this  rocky 
steep,  and  get  a  view  of  the  far-off  mountains,  the 
deep  valleys  and  extended  plains. 

Most  delightful  of  all  was  the  wild- winding 
way  to  the  village  church,  nearly  two  miles  in 
length,  but  traversed  every  Sabbath  by  that  orderly 
group,  the  pony  taking  the  mother  on  his  hos- 
pitable back. 

Mary  seems  to  have  been  the  star  of  the  group. 
With  warmth  of  heart  she  combined  great  elas- 
ticity of  spirits,  and  a  uniform  desire  to  do  some- 
thing for  the  happiness  of  others.  To  this  was 
added  a  keen  perception  of  the  humorous,  and  a 
power  of  description  which  rendered  her  in  a  special 
sense  "theflife  of  the  household." 

In  her  studies  she  was  always  on  the  alert.  One 
of  her  teachers  remarked :  "  I  would  like  to  see  what 
that  girl  would  make  if  she  could  go  to  college." 

But  this  was  not  the  day  of  colleges  for  girls. 
The  first  Woman's  College  was  yet  to  be  born, 

15 


and  this  child  was  to  be  the  honored  mother. 
She  had,  as  might  be  expected,  a  strong  religious 
bent — and  even  before  she  was  a  Christian  herself, 
she  was  known  to  gather  her  companions  about 
her,  and  explain  to  them  the  way  of  life,  as  her 
parents  had  taught  it  to  her. 

Subsequently,  on  a  Sabbath  day,  having  listened 
to  a  sermon  on  the  character  of  God,  her  affec- 
tions seemed  to  flow  out  to  that  Being  whom 
she  had  reverenced,  from  her  earliest  recollection. 

This  was  in  1816,  and  in  later  years  she  al- 
ways referred  to  it  as  the  time  of  her  conver- 
sion, altho'  in  accordance  with  the  prevailing  habit 
of  the  time  and  place,  she  did  not  then  speak  of 
it,  even  to  her  mother.  The  next  year,  she  en- 
tered Sanborn  Academy,  at  Ashfield,  in  her  native 
state.  She  was  still  a  child  of  nature.  One  said 
of  her :  * '  She  is  all  intellect — she  does  not  seem 
to  know  that  she  has  a  body  to  care  for." 

The  family  with  whom  she  boarded  said,  that 
she  slept  not  more  than  four  hours  out  of  the 
twenty-four.  The  simple  habits  of  her  childhood 
life,  had  prepared  her  to  endure  this. 

Her  appearance  was  so  unique,  her  progress 
so  remarkable,  and  her  face  so  radiant,  that  a 
stranger  could  not  fail  to  observe  her.  Some  of 
her  companions  in  study,  became  distinguished  for 

16 


their  talents  and  achievements  in  later  years;  and 
rarely  has  that  institution  held  within  its  walls  so 
many  destined  to  bless  the  world  with  their  influ- 
ence, but  no  one  excelled  her  in  recitation. 

So  eager  was  she,  that  the  preceptor  assigned  her 
extra  lessons.  When  he  gave  her  the  Latin  gram- 
mar, he  directed  her  to  omit  these,  and  only  keep 
up  with  her  regular  classes.  Within  three  days, 
she  committed  and  recited  all  those  portions  usu- 
ally taken  at  first,  and  her  teacher  (Elihu  Bar- 
rett, afterwards  the  noted  master  of  many  lan- 
guages) remarked,  that  he  never  knew  it  more 
accurately  rendered. 

She  soon  began  to  receive  limited  classes,  all 
the  while  pursuing  her  own  studies,  not  neglect- 
ing instructions  for  a  term  in  drawing  and  paint- 
ing, in  which  a  well-known  artist  was  her  teach- 
er. Regarding  her  penmanship  as  deficient,  she 
placed  herself  under  a  specialist  in  writing.  He 
likes  to  relate  how,  when  he  gave  her  a  new- 
book  for  practice,  and  placed  a  Latin  motto 
at  the  entrance,  she  gave  it  back  to  him,  and 
asked  him  to  write  it  in  English,  as  she  feared 
she  might  be  thought  wiser  than  she  was.  This  is 
mentioned  only  to  present  a  prominent  feature  in 
her  character — never  to  appear  wiser,  than  she 
was  in  reality. 

17 


A  notable  event  in  her  life  occurred  in  1821 , 
when  she  entered  the  school  of  Rev.  Joseph  Em- 
erson, of  saintly  memory.  It  was  an  opportunity 
she  had  long  desired,  and  her  beaming  eye  and  sunny 
face  spoke  the  gratitude  of  her  heart.  She  fully  real- 
ized her  expectations,  and  always  said  that  she 
owed  more  to  Mr.  Emerson  than  to  any  other 
teacher. 

He  remarked,  years  afterward,  that  he  had  in- 
structed many  ladies  whose  minds  had  been  bet- 
ter disciplined,  but  in  power,  he  considered  her 
superior  to  them  all. 

She  was  supremely  absorbed  with  her  books, 
but  a  time  of  religious  interest  came.  The  Spirit  of 
God  seemed  in  a  special  manner  to  brood  over  that 
favored  spot,  and  the  thought  occurred  to  Mary  that 
the  Christian  girls  in  the  Seminary  might  be  so  en- 
grossed with  their  studies  as  not  to  realize  the 
danger  of  those  out  of  Christ,  and  thereby  prove 
a  stumbling-block  to  them. 

In  writing  to  her  mother,  in  whose  prayers  she 
had  great  confidence,  she  begs  that  she  would 
pray  for  all  the  girls,  that  the  most  important 
things  might  not  be  displaced.  Moments  often 
come  in  the  lives  of  individuals,  as  well  as  of  na- 
tions, which  give  character  to  their  entire  future. 

There  were  at  least  two  special  seasons  in  Miss 

18 


Lyon's  life,  in  which,  in  view  of  her  finished  work, 
we  cannot  fail  to  see  the  guiding  hand  of  God. 

They  were  times  of  great  perplexity  to  her. 

She  had  taught  her  classes  successfully  in  the 
view  of  others,  but  her  standard  was  so  high  that 
she  was  much  depressed,  quite  contrary  to  her 
nature,  with  the  possibility  of  comparative  fail- 
ure, and  other  openings  presented  themselves. 

For  a  long  time  she  vacillated  and  found  re- 
lief only  in  tears.  But  God  opened  her  eyes  and 
showed  her  His  way. 

Go  where  she  would  she  could  never  have  been 
an  ordinary  woman.  She  must  have  been  helpful 
to  others,  but  she  was  still  like  the  unchiseled 
marble.  Its  worth  and  beauty  must  be  brought 
forth  by  the  hand  of  the  artist.  The  Infinite 
Artist  evidently  designed  to  do  this  for  the  profit 
of  many,  and  the  glory  of  His  name. 

In  August,  1821,  she  wrote  to  her  sister :  "I  have 
never  realized  the  solemnity  of  living  so  much  as  I  do 
now.  It  is,  indeed,  'greater  to  live  than  to  die.' 

"What  consequence  may  often  depend  upon  a 
single  word,  or  the  deed  which  to  us  seems  of 
trifling  significance! 

"With  what  care  should  we  regulate  our  con- 
duct and  even  our  thoughts!  This  cannot  be 
done  without  effort.  It  demands  the  best  use  of 

19 


our  powers.  Yea,  more,  we  need  constant  assist- 
ance from  above,  the  guidance  of  a  Heavenly 
hand." 

Previously,  she  said:  "I  have  cultivated  the 
intellect  rather  than  the  heart.  From  Mr.  Em- 
erson I  have  learned  to  give  each  its  due  pro- 
portion." 

On  being  asked  if  it  was  really  true  that  she 
committed  the  Latin  grammar  in  three  days,  she 
replied:  "Oh,  that  was  in  one  of  those  schools 
where  they  do  little  else  but  study  and  recite, 
not  near  as  good  for  the  cultivation  of  charac- 
ter as  Mr.  Emerson's.  I  just  traced  the  likenesses 
and  differences  of  the  various  declensions  and  con- 
jugations; and,  as  for  the  rules  of  syntax,  they 
are  so  much  like  those  in  the  English  grammar 
that  it  did  not  take  long  to  master  them.  So, 
you  see,  it  "was  no  great  feat,  after  all." 

Then  she  went  on  to  speak  of  Mr.  Emerson's 
school  as  the  one  where  she  treasured  up  great 
principles  of  action  and  received  a  new  view  of 
education.  Here  she  met  with  many  cultivated 
people  who  were  giving  the  first  place  to  efforts 
for  enlisting  others  in  the  work  of  blessing  the 
world. 

Her  remarkable  powers  of  mind,  her  docility, 
her  good  will  to  all  about  her,  and  her  uncloud- 

20 


ed  temper  made  her  from  the   first    an    object    of 
special  interest  to  her  teachers  and  companions. 

No  pupil  of  her  own,  was  ever  more  industri- 
ous, more  yielding,  or  more  respectful.  While  her 
instructors  took  delight  in  her,  with  gratitude, 
spoken  or  unspoken,  she  treasured  every  suggestion 
and  tried  to  put  it  in  immediate  practice. 


21 


IL 

SCHOOLS  IN  LONDONDERRY,    BUCKLAND  AND 
IPSWICH. 

In  the  spring  of  1823  Miss  L/yon  was  invited 
by  Miss  Z.  P.  Grant  to  assist  her  in  a  school 
for  ladies,  already  established  in  Londonderry, 
now  known  as  Derry,  in  New  Hampshire.  She 
accepted  the  invitation,  and  by  way  of  prepara- 
tion for  her  duties,  attended  a  series  of  lectures 
on  Chemistry,  by  Prof.  Eaton,  of  Amherst  Col- 
lege, chiefly  in  order  that  she  might  be  able  to 
illustrate  that  science  by  experiments. 

The  views  of  these  ladies,  Miss  Grant  and  Miss 
Lyon,  were  very  congenial,  and  the  plans  they 
adopted  in  Derry,  were  the  commencement  of  those 
so  successfully  carried  out  at  a  later  day,  in  the 
celebrated  school  at  Ipswich,  and  afterward  still 
more  perfectly  at  South  Hadley. 

An  extract  from  a  letter  to  her  sister,  who  was 
teaching,  will  show  how  careful  she  was  in  the 
study  of  methods :  ' '  You  will  do  well  to  spare 
no  pains  to  obtain  the  confidence  of  every  pupil, 
and  to  make  them  see  the  reason  of  your  re- 

22 


quirements.  Do  not  say  too  much  to  them  at 
one  time.  I  think  it  best  to  devote  the  neces- 
sary time  to  their  behavior,  even  if  they  do  not 
study  so  much.  If  any  are  disposed  to  trouble  you, 
I  think  it  will  be  helpful  to  speak  with  them  out 
of  school  and  entirely  alone.  The  good  influence 
of  every  well-behaved  pupil  is  very  great.  Bring 
this,  to  their  attention. 

"Lead  them,  if  possible,  to  be  strictly  truthful, 
and  then  let  them  see  that  you  rery  implicitly  on 
their  word." 

Both  placed  great  confidence  in  the  study  of 
God's  Word  for  the  development  of  the  mind,  no 
less  than  the  guidance  of  the  heart  and  control 
of  the  life.  A  short  portion  every  morning,  and 
once  a  week  a  study  of  two  hours,  was  "the  law 
of  the  house." 

As  the  school  at  Derry  did  not  cover  the  win- 
ter months,  Miss  I/yon  spent  these  in  her  moun- 
tain home.  Even  here  she  made  the  most  of  her 
time.  The  female  teachers  in  the  summer  schools 
of  that  vicinit}^  improved  their  opportunity  and 
a  class  of  twenty-five  was  formed. 

Eiforts  were  made  to  retain  her  there  perma- 
nently. Although  these  were  not  successful,  the 
seed  she  planted  bore  fruit  an  hundred-fold  and 
can  still  be  gathered  up. 

23 


Of  this  class,  she  says:  " Fourteen  of  my  pupils 
board  with  me.  We  have  a  table  by  ourselves. 
I  was  well  aware  that  it  would  require  more 
than  average  dignity,  in  which  quality  I  am  sad- 
ly deficient,  to  prevent  unprofitable  conversation 
at  table,  and  thought  it  best  to  introduce  some 
entertaining  and  profitable  topic.  To  get  this 
fairly  established  required  more  effort  than  I  an- 
ticipated. But  I  find  it  now  really  delightful.  I 
often  wonder  how  Miss  Grant  could  have  taken 
care  of  so  many  last  summer."  She  adds:  "My 
spirits  have  been  uniform  for  four  \veeks.  I  do 
not  remember  one  hour  of  depression.  I  consider 
this  a  great  blessing,  because  depression  paralyzes." 

The  number  of  pupils  soon  increased  to  fifty. 
The  special  influences  of  the  Spirit  -were  given,  and 
many  began  to  live  a  new  life. 

After  her  return  to  Derry  she  wrote  to  her 
mother:  "Don't  forget  that  I  am  much  interest- 
ed in  little  things.  It  does  my  heart  good  to 
read  a  page  filled  with  words  of  home  and  friends, 
and  I  am  deeply  interested,  too,  in  all  I  can  learn 
of  my  pupils,  or  rather  those  who  were  mine  last 
winter.  The  last  days  of  last  term  were  the  most 
fruitful  and  precious  of  my  life.  I  can  scarcely 
realize  them  now.  It  is  not  the  least  of  all  my 
blessings  that  I  am  permitted  to  do  something 

24 


for  the  happiness  and  welfare  of  others.  I  am, 
indeed,  thankful  for  an  active  life,  but  I  hope 
I  shall  not  be  so  attached  to  activity,  that  if 
my  health  were  lost,  all  my  pleasures  would  be 
gone.  I  would  so  receive  present  favors  from  the 
hand  of  God  that  should  the  streams  be  hereafter 
cut  off,  the  fountain  would  remain  to  be  a  never 
failing  source  of  enjoyment.  I  can  safely  and 
cheerfully  leave  all  the  future  in  His  hands." 

Of  the  school  in  Derry  she  now  writes:  "  We 
have  about  ninety  pupils,  very  attentive  and  studi- 
ous, but  with  a  great  variety  of  character."  To  a 
sister,  on  the  Fourth  of  July:  "Half  a  century 
has  passed  since  the  Declaration  of  Independence. 
Who  could  have  anticipated  such  growth?  Must 
we  not  exclaim,  '  This  is  the  finger  of  God ! ' 
Perhaps  the  same  Almighty  One,  who  could  with 
a  glance  see  the  course  of  the  Israelitish  nation 
from  the  selling  of  Joseph  to  the  coming  of  the 
Messiah,  has  designs  of  mercy  for  all  the  nations  of 
the  earth,  through  the  unparalleled  blessings  which 
He  has  bestowed  upon  this.  Aye,  it  may  be  that 
His  dealings  with  our  beloved  land  are  very  close- 
ly connected  with  the  causes  which  shall  usher 
in  that  glorious  day  toward  which  the  hearts 
of  those  who  love  Christ  are  eagerly  looking. 
I  remember  you  as  Paul  did  the  Romans.  ( Rom- 
ans i:  9.)" 

25 


In  the  spring  of  1828  Miss  Grant  removed  from 
Derry  to  Ipswich,  Mass.  A  large  number  of  her 
pupils  followed  her.  Miss  Lyon  continued  to  assist 
her  in  the  summer,  but  still  maintained  her  winter 
school  at  Buckland.  The  influences  of  the  spirit 
were  largely  bestowed  at  both  places. 

She  writes:  " Scarcely  a  day  passes  that  some 
one  is  not  earnestly  seeking  conscious  communion 
with  Christ.  That  it  is  God's  work,  no  candid  ob- 
server can  doubt.  '  Truly,  it  is  the  Lord's  doing  and 
marvelous  in  our  eyes.'  May  nothing  be  permitted 
to  occur  which  shall  hinder  or  mar  it  in  any 
degree." 

In  1829  the  school  in  Buckland  was  reluctantly 
relinquished  because  she  thought  she  could  not  do 
justice  to  both  places. 

In  regard  to  this,  she  says:  "It  has  been  a 
great  trial  to  me,  for  I  have  never  witnessed  else- 
where such  improvement  in  character  and  in  real 
desire  to  cultivate  meekness,  humility,  patience  and 
perseverance.  A  spirit  of  benevolence  has  prevailed 
to  such  a  degree  that  selfishness  has  taken  its 
proper  place  in  our  little  community.  We  have 
earnestly  labored  to  get  enlarged  views  in  regard 
to  our  country,  its  present  state,  its  prospects,  and 
its  needs;  also,  to  understand  what  can  be  done, 
and  what  ought  to  be  done,  and  to  know  our  own 

26 


individual  duty.  Some  of  the  most  intelligent  of 
these  young  ladies,  all  of  whom  have  been  tender- 
ly, and  some  of  them  luxuriously  brought  up,  think 
now  that  they  must  labor,  where  most  needed  and 
express  a  willingness  to  go  anywhere,  if  only  the 
Master  of  the  vineyard  will  send  them,  and  say  at 
last,  'She  hath  done  what  she  could."' 

The  success  of  Mary  Lyon  in  this  school  shows 
what  one  competent  woman  can  do  with  inade- 
quate accommodations  in  a  community  alive  to 
the  blessings  of  education.  Commencing  with 
twenty-five  she  closed  with  one  hundred.  Many  of 
these  had  been  teachers,  but  being  herself  a  model 
she  taught  them  better  methods.  Though  the 
term  had  not  then  been  coined,  this  was  essential- 
ly a  "normal  school."  Its  Christian  character 
warmly  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  Christian  peo- 
ple. Daughters  who  went  there  chiefly  bent  upon 
their  own  interests,  went  home  determined  to  labor 
for  the  interests  of  others.  All  knew  that  those 
who  were  educated  there  thought  more  of  mind 
than  raiment;  preferred  a  good  education  to  the 
most  palatable  dainties,  and  intended  to  make  the 
most  of  themselves  for  the  high  purposes  of  use- 
fulness and  duty.  This  was  a  very  simple  and  in- 
expensive school,  but  the  subsequent  history  of 
some  of  those  ladies,  if  written,  would  be  almost 

27 


as  interesting  as  that  of  Mary  Lyon  herself.  Verily 
the  seed  she  planted  was  "that  whose  fruit  is  in 
itself" — thus  yielding  an  abundant  harvest. 

A  single  example  may  be  given:  S.  B.  was 
under  Miss  Lyon's  instruction  at  Buckland  for  six 
winters.  There  she  first  sought  for  herself  "The 
kingdom  of  God  and  His  righteousness,"  and  was 
deeply  impressed  with  her  personal  duty  and  priv- 
ilege to  promote  the  safety  and  happiness  of 
others. 

Who,  save  the  pupils  of  Miss  Lyon,  could  ever 
know  the  impressive  manner  in  which  she  could 
say:  "Oh,  young  ladies,  do  not  always  seek  for 
the  most  delightful  places,  and  the  most  congenial 
work.  Go,  rather,  where  others  will  not  be  likely 
to  go,  and  as  they  bear  your  body  to  its  last  rest- 
ing place,  may  all  who  knew  you  be  able  to  say, 
'She  hath  done  what  she  could.'" 

Thus  educated,  Miss  B.  closed  behind  her  the 
pleasant  chambers  so  cozily  furnished,  bade  adieu 
to  all  the  privileges  of  her  New  England  home,  and 
took  up  her  abode  in  a  Western  territory.  Miss 
Lyon's  blessing  went  with  her,  and  the  blessing  of 
many  has  since  rested  upon  her.  Making  her  home 
with  a  married  sister  who,  as  to  the  good  things 
of  this  life,  was  very  differently  situated  from  their 
parents.  She  opened  a  school  in  a  small  room  of 

28 


this  small  house.  Fifteen  came  timidly  in — French, 
Dutch  and  American.  She  taught  them  what  they 
most  needed  to  know— spending  her  time  and  en- 
ergy upon  them  as  though  they  were  princes.  Al- 
most as  much  out  of  sight  as  moles  and  miners, 
she  labored  earnestly  to  do  them  good.  Soon 
others  came  in.  The  place  became  too  straight. 
A  house  was  built  for  their  accommodation,  and 
the  number  of  pupils  exceeded  one  hundred.  The 
youngest  was  very  young  and  the  oldest,  in  win- 
ter, were  often  masters  and  sailors  of  the  vessels 
that  plied  upon  the  lakes  in  the  summer.  Of 
these  she  said:  "They  are  among  my  most  docile, 
studious  and  agreeable  pupils." 

Every  intelligent  person  in  that  part  of  the 
state  (for  it  is  no  longer  a  territory)  acknowl- 
edged her  beneficent  influence,  and  more  or  less 
directly,  felt  the  force  of  her  character. 

Mary  Lyon  herself  could  not  have  been  more 
unselfish,  more  patient  or  more  Christly.  What  a 
joy  to  her,  as  she  looks  down  "from  the  battle- 
ments of  heaven"  upon  the  scene  of  her  earthly 
labors — to  behold  not  one,  but  many  such  results. 

These  streams  of  influence  must  inevitably  widen , 
so  long  as  earth  and  time  endure.  The  perma- 
nent impression  for  good — the  intellect  unrolled  in 
her  presence  upon  which  she  so  distinctly  inscribed : 

29 


"  Holiness  unto  the  Lord,"  and  the  hearts  of  im- 
mortal beings  rightly  directed — this  and  nothing 
less,  is  the  imperishable  work  even  of  Miss  Lyon's 
early  life.  Its  fruits  must  meet  her,  not  only 
when  she  glances  from  heaven  to  earth,  but  at 
every  turn  of  her  walks  in  Paradise. 

It  may  be  stated  here,  that  becoming  deeply 
impressed  with  the  importance  of  a  more  perma- 
nent school  of  high  character,  she  now  gave  the 
final  negative  to  the  question  of  matrimony. 
Weighing  carefully  the  probabilities  of  compara- 
tive usefulness  in  wedded  life  she  decided  to  re- 
main a  teacher. 

The  immediate  occasion  of  this  decision  was  a 
very  tempting  offer,  which  she  thought  afforded 
as  good  a  prospect  of  love  and  happiness  as  she 
could  expect.  When  she  had  once  resolved  to  give 
her  undivided  attention  to  the  advancement  of 
female  education  her  decision  was  fixed  beyond 
recall.  "If  the  bishop  of  all  the  churches  had 
thrown  an  apple  of  gold  in  her  path  she  would 
not  have  stopped  to  pick  it  up.  A  warm  heart 
beat  in  that  broad  chest,  and  once  appropriated, 
it  would  never  have  been  recalled.  She  seemed  to 
be  entirely  without  ambition  to  be  known  and 
would  have  moved  along  in  an  even  lovely  course 
like  her  noble  mother  before  her.  Her  life  would 

30 


probably  have  been  longer  on  earth,  but  Mount 
Holyoke  Seminary  would  not  have  been  estab- 
lished." We  must  see  a  Providence  in  the  fact  that 
this  woman  did  not  become  encumbered  with  do- 
mestic cares. 

At  Ipswich  the  number  of  pupils  continued  to 
increase  until  in  1831  one  hundred  and  ninety 
were  enrolled.  Not  having  suitable  accommoda- 
tions for  so  many,  certain  qualifications  were  re- 
quired for  admission,  and  the  number  of  pupils 
was  finally  limited  to  one  hundred. 

The  failing  health  of  Miss  Grant  now  rendered 
a  change  of  climate  imperative,  and  the  school 
was  left  entirely  to  the  direction  of  Miss  Lyon,  but 
with  all  her  cares  she  still  studied  the  problem  of 
a  more  permanent  institution,  and  her  mind  was 
full  of  the  earnest  purpose  to  do  all  in  her  power 
to  promote  it.  Some  gentlemen  and  ladies  in  Ips- 
wich, whose  interest  she  had  enlisted,  met  in  her 
parlor  and  selected  a  committee  to  investigate. 
Sadly  missing  the  counsels  of  Miss  Grant,  it  was 
her  pastime  to  write  her  a  long  weekly  letter. 

At  one  time  she  wrote:  "My  labors  the  past 
week  have  been  unusually  fatigueing.  A  few  dif- 
ficult cases  required  much  personal  effort.  I  have 
for  some  time  been  seeking  for  the  opportunity 
to  secure  a  greater  degree  of  conscientiousness  in 

31 


the  rendering  of  accounts.  Oh!  that  God  would 
guide  in  the  selection  of  all  our  methods. 

"In  regard  to  my  cherished  i  Castle  in  the  Air,' 
sometimes  a  cloud  of  discouragement  passes  over 
me,  but  it  is  soon  gone.  I  still  believe  it  will,  in 
the  near  future,  become  a  reality.  If  I  could  be 
permitted  to  build  the  portico,  and  clear  the  ground 
for  a  temple  that  shall  stand  from  age  to  age, 
the  hand-maid  of  education  and  the  permanent 
representative  of  the  Protestant  faith,  it  would 
certainly  be  the  height  of  my  ambition.  The  darker 
the  outlook  sometimes  the  brighter  the  faith,  because 
we  rest  more  quietly  on  the  arm  that  never  fails. 
I  have  often  found  myself  attempting  to  preserve 
the  manna  until  morning,  but  have  never  suc- 
ceeded. How  wise  is  the  economy  of  grace!  and 
how  we  should  rejoice  that  we  cannot  lay  up 
stores  for  ourselves,  either  of  wisdom  or  faith." 

Again,  in  observing  how  ignorant  the  first  dis- 
ciples were,  after  being  with  Jesus  three  years: 
"I  am  reminded  of  onr  inability  to  determine  the 
way  by  which  He  will  be  glorified  now.  How 
easy  it  would  have  been  for  Him  to  have  made 
them  understand  that  He  would  rise  from  the 
dead.  But  He  saw  it  was  not  best  for  them,  at 
that  time,  to  understand  that.  How  little  we 
know  what  is  best !  I  can  pray  without  reserve 

32 


that  God's  will  may  be  done  on  earth  'as  per- 
fectly as  it  is  done  in  heaven ; '  and  that  the 
events  and  even  the  circumstances  that  He  sees 
to  be  best,  may  take  place,  but  when  I  ask  for 
particular  blessings  I  must  feel  that  I  do  not 
know  how  to  ask,  and  that  it  is  a  great  priv- 
ilege to  refer  the  whole  matter  to  Him.  I  hope 
that  many  in  this  school  may  be  fitted  to  labor 
in  the  Master's  vineyard. 

"I  am  remarkably  well — do  emphatically  'enjoy 
health.'  There  is  an  unusual  evenness  in  my  ex- 
perience— freedom  from  excitement  or  from  any 
rising  above  the  common  level.  My  cup  is  full 
and  running  over,  and  every  future  scene  seems 
all  I  could  desire.  I  often  say  to  myself:  "How 
delightful  it  is  to  work;  how  sweet  is  life.'  I 
do  not  now  refer  to  religious  enjoyment.  Spir- 
itually, I  sometimes  walk  in  darkness  and  see  no 
light — but  I  am  not  left  long  to  wander  thus. 
Christ  ever  stands  near,  to  forgive  even  the  great- 
est sin — unbelief.  Yea,  even  'seventy  times  seven,1 
so  the  record  reads.  Do  pray  that  our  teachers 
may  all  be  wholly  devoted  to  God,  and  faithful 
in  His  service.  Pray  that  none  of  us  may  become 
entangled  with  the  things  of  this  brief  life,  or  fail 
to  connect  temporal  duties  and  passing  pleasures 
with  the  eternal  future. 

33 


"How  are  you  now?  May  you  ever  rest  un- 
der the  shadow  of  His  wing." 

A  letter  to  one  of  her  nieces,  who  had  asked 
her  for  counsel,  will  show  what  motives  she  placed 
before  them : 

"I  should  be  very  much  influenced  in  giving 
my  advice  by  your  own  views  in  regard  to  the 
main  object  of  life.  Formerly  I  was  very  desir- 
ous that  my  friends  should  be  thoroughly  edu- 
cated, in  order  that  they  might  take  good  posi- 
tions in  society,  but  now  I  consider  that  very 
unworthy,  as  the  main  motive,  in  view  of  the 
uncertainty  of  life,  and  the  great  issues  that  are 
depending  upon  it.  There  is  a  great  work  to 
be  done  for  Christ,  before  he  comes,  and  many 
men  and  women  are  needed  to  accomplish  it. 
Much  prejudice  and  indifference  is  to  be  counter- 
acted and  a  great  variety  of  wrongs  are  to  be 
removed.  The  next  generation  will  walk  in  the 
footsteps  of  this.  Teachers  of  a  high  order  are 
eminently  needed.  Is  it  your  deliberate  choice  to 
go  wherever  He  may  send  you,  and  to  labor  for 
Him?  If  this  is  your  decision,  and  you  think 
that  you  possess  a  natural  aptness  for  teaching, 
by  all  means  qualify  yourself.  In  order  to  exer- 
cise much  moral  power  over  others,  you  must 
have  a  well-cultivated  mind. 

34 


"  If,  as  I  said,  your  object  is  to  labor  for 
the  happiness  and  well  being  of  the  race,  I  ad- 
vise you,  by  all  means,  to  bear  the  expense  of 
the  journey,  and  come  to  this  seminary.  You  will 
have  no  charges  here  except  the  charge  given  in 
Hebrews  xiii:  16.  May  you  be  guided  in  the  path 
of  duty,  which  is  the  path  of  peace.'' 

It  may  be  stated  here  that  after  being  educat- 
ed by  her,  two  of  Miss  Lyon's  nieces  devoted 
themselves  to  foreign  fields,  and  the  others  to  mis- 
sionary work  in  the  home-land. 

Writing  to  Miss  Grant,  she  refers  to  a  very 
select  seminary  about  to  be  opened:  "I  fear  it 
will  be  adapted  exclusively  to  the  highest  classes, 
so  called.  The  improvement  of  the  masses  seems 
of  less  importance  to  them.  But  I  am  glad,  on 
the  whole,  of  their  advent.  They  will  teach  the 
Scriptures,  and  I  hope  will  allow  them  to  take  the 
lead.  Then  I  care  not  how  soon  philosophy  follows. 

"I  have  just  begun  to  take  up  in  the  Hall,  the 
general  epistles  of  Peter.  Oh,  that  I  ma}'  receive 
into  my  own  soul  the  glorious  truths  that  em- 
anate from  many  a  radiant  point.  To  the  same 
"  Christ* field!  How  white  it  is  to  the  harvest! 
The  precious  grain  is  continually  wasting!  May 
you  and  I  be  so  directed  that  we  shall  bring  in 
the  largest  possible  sheaves!  '' 

35 


Yesterday  was  my  birthday;  thirty -six  years  of 
my  life  are  gone.  The  remaining  years  are  prob- 
ably few.  But  in  one  thing  I  can  always  rejoice, 
If  'the  Lord  hath  need  of  me/  He  can  give  me 
the  great  privilege  of  long  life  in  His  service;  if 
not,  I  would  be  ready  to  go  to  Him  with  re- 
joicing. Whether  my  days  are  few  or  many,  I 
would  much  prefer,  if  God  is  willing,  to  labor- 
not  for  the  highest  classes  (in  worldly  phrase  so 
called)— but  for  the  great  middle  class.  This 
contains  the  main  wheels  which  are  to  move  the 
world.  The  founding  of  a  permanent  Ladies' 
Seminary  is  a  great  enterprise.  Whatever  share  I 
have  in  it  must  be  a  humble  and  laborious  one. 
How  I  can  get  a  footing  firm  enough  for  my  feet 
to  rest  upon  while  I  am  freely  working,  I  do  not 
yet  know,  but,  perhaps,  God  will  open  the  way. 
He  may  only  permit  me  to  awaken  an  interest  in 
the  cause,  appointing  that  the  temple  should  be 
built  by  other  hands." 


36 


III. 

NEW   PLANS. 

While  Miss  Lyon  thus  wrote,  she  scarcely  knew 
her  own  heart.  Mentally,  she  was  planning  for 
more  definite  work.  Only  a  few  days  later  she 
wrote  to  Miss  Grant: 

"If  only  a  few  judicious  gentlemen  could  be  pur- 
suaded  to  join  us,  might  we  not  begin  on  a  small 
scale?" 

Meantime  it  is  said  that  the  committee  of  gen- 
tlemen that  had  been  enlisted,  discouraged  by  the 
apathy  they  met  had  actually  disbanded. 

With  Miss  Grant's  concurrence  she  prepared  and 
circulated  the  following  letter : 

To  the  Friends  and  Patrons    of  Ipswich    Female 
Seminary: 

"It  has  long  been  a  subject  of  regret  to  those 
familiar  with  the  character  of  this  institution  that 
many  very  promising  young  ladies  are  denied  the 
benefit  of  its  privileges  on  account  of  limited 
means. 

37 


"The  question  has  been  asked:  Is  there  no 
way  by  which  the  expenses  could  be  so  reduced 
as  to  include  these.  If  not  here,  could  not  an- 
other institution  elsewhere  be  founded  on  the  fol- 
lowing plan: 

''First.  Buildings  to  be  erected  and  furnished 
by  voluntary  gifts  and  placed  free  from  encum- 
brance in  the  hands  of  trustees. 

"Second.  Best  qualified  teachers  to  be  secured 
who,  possessing  a  'philanthropic  spirit,'  would 
cheerfully  labor,  with  less  compensation  than  they 
would  elsewhere  receive. 

"Third.  Style  of  living,  plain,  but  good,  simple 
and  hygienic. 

"Fourth,  Domestic  work,  very  systematically 
arranged,  mostly  performed  by  the  young  ladies 
under  the  direction  of  a  superintending  matron. 

"Fifth.  No  surplus  income  to  revert  to  the 
teachers,  but  all  to  be  cast  into  the  treasury  for 
the  purpose  of  still  further  reduction  in  pupils' 
expenses  the  following  year.  This,  of  course,  would 
not  meet  the  case  of  such  as  were  entirely  des- 
titute— but  it  would  reach  a  large  and  interest- 
ing class  of  enterprising  young  women,  and  great- 
ly elevate  the  standard  of  female  education. 

Every  department  of  society  would  be  benefited 
by  this  uplift.  The  enterprise  should  be  present- 

38 


ed  with  broad  and  liberal  views — for  neither  local 
or  exclusively  denominational  benefit — equally 
claiming  the  patronage  of  every  part  of  New 
England. 

"To  effect  this,  no  special  privileges  should  be 
granted  to  the  students  of  the  place  where  this 
Seminary  might  be  located.  All  such  should  be 
received  as  boarders,  subject  to  the  same  regula- 
tions as  those  from  abroad. 

"The  spot  selected  should  be  the  one  consid- 
ered most  favorable  to  permanent  growth,  suited 
to  nourish  the  tender  plant,  and  to  support  the 
lofty  oak." 

To  Thos.  White,  Esq.,  of  Ashland,  Mass.,  who 
had  been  her  special  friend  and  adviser,  she  for- 
warded a  number  of  these  circulars,  for  distribu- 
tion among  the  gentlemen  and  ladies  of  his  ac- 
quaintance, accompanying  them  with  the  follow- 
ing letter: 

"IPSWICH,  March  5th,  1834. 
"Dear  Sir: 

"I  have  long  cherished  a  great  desire  that  the 
advantages  of  this  Seminary  should  be  brought 
within  the  range  of  those  without  ample  means, 
and  that  in  some  way  the  expenses  should  be  re- 
duced to  a  level  with  their  ability.  I  do  wish 
that  our  wealthy  farmers  would  take  this  sub- 

39 


ject  into  consideration.  If  they  would  take  hold 
of  it  vigorously,  perhaps  something  could  be  done 
which  would  essentially  promote  the  interests  of 
their  posterity. 

"While  it  is  desirable  that  every  benevolent 
man  and  woman  should  be  able  to  grasp  all  the 
benevolent  enterprises  of  the  day,  and  do  some- 
thing for  each,  I  am  persuaded  that  the  interests 
of  the  whole  are  best  promoted  by  the  attention  of 
each  being  especially  directed  to  some  single  enter- 
prise. I  am  wishing  that  some  of  our  fathers 
would  select  this  as  the  special  child  of  their 
prayers  and  their  gifts. 

"  Would  you  not,  dear  sir,  be  glad  in  your  old 
age  to  enlist  some  kindred  souls  in  this  great 
work  which,  in  importance  to  the  future  welfare 
of  our  country  and  of  the  world,  might  not  fall 
behind  any  of  our  leading  benevolences?  Would 
it  not  rejoice  your  heart  if  you  could  see  this 
movement  spread  as  our  home  and  foreign  mis- 
sionary operations  have  done?  I  do  believe  it 
might  be  so,  and  that  he  who  first  putting  his  '  hand 
to  the  plough '  shall  say  to  others,  *  Come,  thou, 
and  do  thou  likewise,'  will  deserve  the  gratitude 
of  his  country.  I  will  gladly  do  all  I  can,  and 
I  know  of  other  ladies  who  are  ready  to  em 
bark  in  the  enterprise. 

40 


"In  six  months  I  intend  to  close  my  labors 
here,  that  I  may  devote  myself  wholly  to  this 
work." 

She  also  wrote  to  Professor  Hitchcock,  of  Am- 
herst  College: 

"Reverend  and  Dear  Sir: 

"Knowing  that  you  are  interested  in  my  pro- 
posed plan,  for  a  permanent  Seminary  for  Ladies, 
I  offer  no  apology  for  this  communication. 

uThe  friends  of  the  cause  are  more  and  more 
convinced  that  this  is  essential  to  the  prosperity  of 
higher  education.  What  school  of  this  kind  is  now 
in  existence — one  which  seems  likely  to  outlive  its 
present  teachers?  Would  not  a  few  such  (perhaps 
one  or  two  in  every  state),  where  young  women 
of  enterprise  could  reasonably  gather,  to  receive 
instruction  and  mature  their  plans,  exert  a  po- 
tent influence  for  good? 

"  Personally,  I  will  do  what  I  can ;  but  noth- 
ing can  be  successfully  accomplished  without  the 
aid  of  a  few  benevolent  gentlemen,  whose  time 
and  talents  are  much  in  demand,  and  whose  hands 
are  already  full  of  important  interests. 

"None  others  could  arouse  any  enthusiasm  on 
this  hitherto  neglected  subject. 

"I   must   now    beg   that  you  will  consider  this 

41 


(not  in  the  light  of  personal  friendship,  feeling 
tinder  a  kind  of  obligation  to  treat  it  with  re- 
spect), but  as  a  philanthropic  scheme,  and  if  it 
commends  itself  to  you,  lend  us  a  helping  hand. 

"Some  of  us  have  been  quietly  discussing  this 
subject  for  several  months.  It  seems  to  be  the 
prevailing  idea  that  Ipswich  is  the  right  location, 
but  some  would  prefer  to  inquire  about  other 
places.  I  regard  this  as  a  matter  of  vital  im- 
portance, and  believing  that  we  should  find  con- 
genial soil,  I  am  very  desirous  that  localities  in 
the  Connecticut  Valley  should  receive  special  at- 
tention. I  would  like  to  test  the  sentiment  in 
your  vicinity. 

"If  the  prospect  of  our  plan  is  auspicious  we 
will  obtain  from  the  Legislature  an  act  of  incor- 
poration. 

"  Yours  respectfully, 

"MARY  LYON." 

About  this  time  she  wrote  to  Miss  Grant: 
"Is  it  not  true  that  oft-times  it  is  the  Chris- 
tian's duty  to  labor  without  financial  reward; 
and  have  not  multitudes  always  been  raised  up, 
who  have  gladly  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  money 
considerations,  so  long  as  the  necessity  continued? 
I  think  Paul  acted  on  this  principle. 

"Is    it    not    of  first   importance    that  not  only 

42 


teachers  but  mothers  should  be  wisely  trained  to 
be  the  educators  of  the  race?  To  effect  this  we 
must  have  the  best  advantages  at  moderate  ex- 
pense. 

"It  will  be  necessary  that  those  who  first  en- 
ter this  field  should  receive  very  little  pecuniary 
compensation,  thus  commending  the  cause  to  those 
whose  hearts  are  not  much  enlarged  by  Chris- 
tian philanthropy.  How  many  years  must  elapse 
before  this  would  no  longer  be  needful,  time  and 
experience  alone  can  decide. 

To  Miss  Hannah  White: 

"I  suppose  you  have  heard  that  I  am  endeav- 
oring to  establish  a  manual  labor  school  for  young 
ladies.  I  have  heard  this.  But  it  is  not  true,  and 
I  wish  the  mistake  could  be  corrected.  I  will  tell 
you  what  I  would  like  to  do.  You  know  it  has 
become  very  popular  for  our  highest  and  best 
seminaries  for  young  men  to  be  moderate  in  their 
expenses.  It  is  not  considered  a  great  recommen- 
dation for  a  college  to  be  very  expensive.  But 
how  different  it  is  in  regard  to  ladies1  schools. 
Even  in  this  Nineteenth  century  many  value  these 
according  to  the  money  invested.  Is  it  not  rather 
gratifying  to  young  ladies  to  attend  expensive 
schools  while,  perhaps,  their  brothers  would  rather 
glory  in  pursuing  their  studies  at  a  moderate  outlay? 

43 


"There  is  a  general  opinion  that  female  edu- 
cation must  be  costly,  and  that  those  who  can- 
not pay  the  price  must  do  without  it.  I  wish 
the  same  public  interest  could  be  roused  in  ex- 
tending superior  educational  advantages  to  wom- 
en as  already  exists  for  young  men.  Their  col- 
leges are  established  by  philanthropic  people  and 
liberally  endowed.  Why  should  it  not  be  so  in 
regard  to  colleges  for  women?  I  believe  it  will 
be,  at  some  future  time.  But  it  cannot  be  accom- 
plished, unless  means  are  used  to  secure  the  inter- 
est of  the  common  people. 

"It  has  seemed  to  me  desirable  that  the  pio- 
neer in  this  line  should  present  some  marked  feat- 
ures which  should  attract  attention,  and  I  have 
thought  that  with  the  aid  of  modern  invention  and 
perfect  system  the  ordinary  domestic  work  could 
be  performed  by  the  young  ladies,  not  as  an  es- 
sential feature  of  the  institution,  but  as  a  mere 
appendage.  This  ought  by  no  means  to  give  the 
name  of  manual  labor  to  the  scheme.  After  the 
acquaintance  I  have  had  with  many  cultivated 
families,  where  the  daughters  in  a  systematic 
manner  efficiently  perform  domestic  duties,  I  have 
the  greatest  confidence  that  a  system  might  be 
established  by  which  the  work  of  a  hundred  young 
ladies,  with  a  competent  superintending  matron, 

44 


could  be  performed  in  the  same  perfect  manner 
without  any  sacrifice  of  study  or  refinement. 

4 'Would  not  this  feature  do  away  with  much  of 
the  prejudice  against  the  higher  education  of  woman 
and  thus  prove  a  great  advantage  to  the  cause?" 

To  her  sister  she  writes : 

"I  am  about  to  embark  in  a  frail  boat  upon 
a  boisterous  sea.  I  know  not  whither  I  shall  be 
driven,  how  I  shall  be  tossed,  or  in  what  port  I 
shall  arrive.  Nor  do  I  know  when  I  shall  take 
up  the  regular  work  of  my  chosen  profession  again . 

"But  I  am  not  anxious.  I  never  saw  any  work 
before  me  which  seemed  so  directly  the  work  of 
the  Lord  as  this.  It  is  very  delightful,  in  the 
midst  of  darkness  and  doubt,  to  commit  the  whole 
to  His  guidance. 

"I  wish  to  spend  the  next  winter  partly  in 
study  and  partly  in  planning  for  the  future.  I  de- 
sire to  be  in  a  cultivated  family  where  I  shall 
have  access  to  a  good  library,  in  a  locality  where 
I  shall  not  be  too  retired,  for  I  shall  have  fre- 
quent need  of  counsel.  Providence  has  kindly  giv- 
en me  such  a  home  in  the  family  of  Professor 
Hitchcock." 


45 


IV. 

QUALIFICATIONS  FOR  HER  WORK. 

Let  us  survey,  at  this  point,  the  superior  qual- 
ifications of  Miss  Lyon  for  the  work  to  which  she 
is  now  sacredly  devoted. 

She  is  thirty -seven  years  of  age,  health,  remark- 
ably good;  power  of  endurance,  very  great;  faith, 
courage  and  enthusiasm,  unbounded ; — her  strong 
common-sense  undiluted  by  sentimental  weakness, 
her  knowledge  of  a  teacher's  duties  liberal  and 
definite.  She  had  been  so  successful  as  a  teacher 
that  her  name  was  sufficient  to  draw  around 
her  women  of  fine  minds,  high  moral  tone  and 
good  home  training.  Discerning  people  who  knew 
her  well  were  convinced  that  her  consecration  to 
the  object  before  her,  her  energy  and  persever- 
ance, would  ensure  the  success  of  her  plan,  and 
she  had  a  distinct  conception  of  the  seminary  she 
wished  to  found.  The  pattern  had  been  shown 
her  "in  the  mount"  by  Him  who  orders  all 
things  after  the  counsel  of  his  own  will,  and  guides 
the  very  thoughts  of  those  who  put  all  their 

46 


confidence  in  Him.  To  the  embodying  of  her  vis- 
ion she  had  conscientiously  devoted  the  residue  of 
her  life.  She  accepted  it  as  the  work  appoint- 
ed her  by  "the  Heavenly  Father,"  without  one 
misgiving  as  to  the  final  result.  With  a  proper- 
ty of  less  than  two  thousand  dollars,  and  with 
powers  and  attainments  which  would  have  se- 
cured an  ample  salary,  she  turned  from  every 
service  that  would  have  insured  pecuniary  reward, 
and,  at  her  own  charges,  undertook  a  long  and 
painful  warfare  to  found  an  institution  from  which 
she  inflexibly  resolved  to  receive  only  a  home  and 
two  hundred  dollars  a  year. 

Not  a  man  of  much  wealth  had .  at  this  time 
given  her  his  countenance  or  aid.  Few  were  in- 
terested in  her  project,  and  the  public  were  in 
quiet  ignorance  of  her  plans.  Yet,  she  was  not 
wholly  alone.  A  few  intelligent  gentlemen  and 
ladies,  who  had  known  her,  thoroughly  relying 
on  her  competence,  energy  and  benevolence,  gave 
her  an  encouraging  word,  and  in  her  pupils  she 
always  had  the  most  enthusiastic  friends. 

She  had  learned  the  infinite  superiority  of  the 
possessions  which  the  soul  can  take  across  the 
River  of  Death,  and  her  indifference  to  the  things 
that  perish  in  the  using  were  a  part  of  her  out- 
fit for  her  mission.  She  never  made  war  on  the 

47 


distinctions  of  society,  but  thought  the  church  and 
school  should  not  be  cumbered  with  them,  and 
was  continually  indifferent  to  what  is  often  called 
gentility.  "  My  heart  is  sick,"  she  said,  "of  empty 
gentility." 

In  her  early  and  most  susceptible  years  her 
godly  mother  had  turned  her  attention  to  that 
adorning  "which  is  incorruptible  and  fadeth  not 
away"  — and  to  "the  ornament  which  in  the  sight 
of  God  is  of  great  price."  She  had,  as  a  natural 
consequence,  possessed,  from  her  childhood,  the  or- 
nament of  a  guileless,  humble  and  intensely  benevo- 
lent spirit.  It  seemed  to  her  of  less  consequence  that 
her  earthly  robes  conformed  to  her  station.  These 
points  in  her  character,  whether  they  were  the  re- 
sult of  constitutional  bias,  of  education  or  of  grace, 
fitted  her  for  the  burdens  she  was  assuming.  They 
helped  her  to  make  herself  of  "no  reputation,"  and 
to  do  anything  that  was  right  to  procure  the 
timber  and  the  stone,  the  gold  and  the  silver,  nec- 
essary to  the  temple  which  she  desired  to  build 
for  the  Lord.  But  the  best  of  all  her  qualifica- 
tions was  the  power  and  skill  she  had  in  pre- 
senting Gospel  Truth. 

Those  who  had  known  her  in  Ipswich  where, 
during  the  repeated  absence  of  Miss  Grant,  she 
had  stood  at  the  head  of  the  school,  often  spoke 

48 


of  the  half  hour  in  the  morning  devoted  to  Scrip- 
tural truth.  She  taught  no  abstract  system  of 
theology  and  never  spoke  of  sects,  but  dwelt  up- 
on fundamental  truths,  presenting  them,  one  by 
one,  in  different  lights  and  illustrating  in  various 
ways.  How  many  have  heard  her  thus  dwell  up- 
on the  Truth,  "  Whatsoever  a  man  soweth  that 
shall  he  also  reap."  The  vivid  sense  she  had  of 
what  she  believed — was  the  secret  of  her  power. 
When  she  spoke  of  common  things  the  sincerity 
and  energy  of  her  manner  always  commanded  at- 
tention, but  there  was  something  more  than  this 
when  she  dealt  out  heavenly  wisdom.  Her  sub- 
dued tones,  as  she  spoke  of  eternal  realities,  with- 
out a  gesture  save  of  her  moving  lips,  conveyed 
as  much  sense  of  reality  as  if  she  had  been  to 
Westminster  Abbey  and  was  describing  its  mon- 
uments and  treasures. 

It  was  noticeable  that  she  never  begged  and 
besought  her  pupils  to  serve  God,  seeming  to  think 
this  degraded  religion  by  representing  it  as  beg- 
ging for  votaries.  Sometimes  she  would  seem  to 
lift  the  curtain  and  give  her  listeners  a  glimpse 
into  "The  Holy  of  Holies,"  and  then  she  would 
say,  "But  there  will  be  no  vacant  seat  there.  If 
any  one  chooses  to  break  away  from  the  vows 
her  parents  have  made  for  her — if  she  chooses  to 

49 


separate  herself  from  Christian  people,  her  absence 
will  not  sadden  that  happy  throng.  Heaven  will 
be  full  and  happy  without  her."  But  she  set  life 
and  death  before  them.  In  the  name  of  Christ 
she  offered  them  salvation  as  a  free  and  loving 
gift.  How  she  would  describe  the  possibilities  of  the 
soul — its  ever  growing  susceptibility  to  joy  or  woe 
— its  identity  and  immortality,  as  if  she  had  been 
through  the  spirit  world!  It  was  not  the  words, 
nor  the  manner,  nor  even  the  thought,  but  it  was 
the  whole  effect  which  was  so  remarkable.  It 
was  the  conception  which  her  hearers  formed  of 
the  truth  which  she  exhibited. 

Such  conceptions  cannot  be  described — but  they 
will  outlive  death  and  the  grave.  They  were  none 
the  less  real,  because  they  cannot  be  detailed. 
They  were  like  seeds  which  germinate  and  grow. 
Is  it  strange  that  these  and  similar  instruc- 
tions from  kindred  minds  were  richly  attended 
by  the  special  influences  of  the  spirit?  All  who 
loved  to  see  the  young  choosing  the  path  that 
leads  to  eternal  happiness,  were  glad  to  hear  of 
a  plan  for  perpetuating  these  influences.  Thus, 
while  many  good  people  hesitated,  and  some  op- 
posed, there  were  more  who  welcomed  her  mis- 
sion with  faith  and  hope. 


50 


V. 

MOUNT     HOLYOKE     FEMALE     SEMINARY. 

About  a  dozen  gentlemen  of  known  benevolence 
and  wisdom,  met  in  Miss  Lyon's  private  parlor 
September  6th,  1834,  and  appointed  a  committee 
to  make  a  commencement,  appoint  trustees,  etc. 
This  committee  stood  before  the  public  as  the  re- 
sponsible agents  for  establishing  the  proposed  Sem- 
inary until  a  charter  should  be  obtained,  and  trus- 
tees appointed. 

Miss  Lyon  raised  $1,000  by  personal  solicita- 
tion, among  the  ladies  of  her  acquaintance  in 
Ipswich,  for  the  contingent  expenses  of  her  enter- 
prise, and  every  dollar  of  that  she  invested  so 
that  it  brought  her  in  a  hundred  per  cent.  This 
was,  as  she  always  said,  "the  cornerstone  of 
her  edifice."  It  was  her  constant  petition  that 
God  would  open  the  hearts  of  His  children  in 
her  behalf,  and  she  believed  she  had  some  nota- 
ble answers  to  her  prayer.  One  such  instance 
may  be  given: 

A   gentleman   in   Boston,  whom   the  Lord  had 

51 


blessed  with  competence,  decided  that  all  the  in- 
crease of  his  property,  over  and  above  what  was 
needed  for  the  support  of  his  family,  should  not 
only  be  the  Lord's,  but  should  be  spent,  year  by 
year,  in  his  service.  He  became  much  interested 
in  Miss  Lyon's  plans,  and  his  spacious  mansion 
was  opened  to  her.  The  time,  influence  and  sym- 
pathy which  he  and  his  lovely  wife  gave  to  her 
work,  were  even  more  valuable  than  the  thous- 
ands of  gold  and  silver  which  they  gave. 

The  question  of  location,  after  much  discussion, 
was  settled  in  1835  in  favor  of  South  Hadley, 
amid  the  most  beautiful  scenery  in  the  state,  and 
it  was  named  "Mount  Holyoke  Female  Semin- 
ary." 

Now  she  says:  "I  have  been  thinking,  whether 
the  buildings  might  not  be  commenced  this  season, 
laying  out  ten  or  twelve  thousand  dollars,  on  a 
plan  which  can  be  extended  as  soon  as  more 
funds  are  obtained." 

To  her  mother:  "I  meet,  of  course,  with  many 
things  to  discourage  me,  but  I  have  no  doubt  I 
am  following  the  leadings  of  Providence.  It  seems 
to  me  more  and  more  that  the  proposed  institu- 
tion, and  other  similar  ones,  are  a  necessary  part 
of  the  great  system  of  means,  now  in  operation, 
to  hasten  the  coming  of  Christ's  kingdom.  Per- 

52 


haps  the  efforts  I  am  now  making  will  do  more 
for  the  cause  of  Christ,  after  I  am  laid  in  the 
grave  than  all  I  have  done  in  my  life  before.  It 
is  my  heart's  desire  that  '  Holiness  to  the  Lord ' 
may  be  inscribed  upon  all  connected  with  it,  and 
that  a  succession  of  teachers  may  be  raised  up 
who  shall  spend  their  time  and  talents  in  sus- 
taining this  Seminary,  until  the  Master  comes." 

The  act  of  incorporation  passed  both  Houses 
of  the  State  Legislature  February  10th,  1836, 
and  was  signed  by  the  Governor  the  next  day. 

This  empowered  the  trustees  to  hold  real  and 
personal  estate,  not  exceeding  in  value  one  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars,  to  be  devoted  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  permanent  Seminary  of  high  order 
for  the  benefit  of  young  ladies.  The  next  October 
witnessed  the  public  laying  of  the  cornerstone. 

Miss  Lyon  wrote:  "I  believe  this  will  prove 
a  new  era  in  education.  A  building  accommo- 
dating about  eighty  pupils  will  at  once  be  erect- 
ed, and  additions  will  be  made  as  the  liberality 
of  the  Christian  public  shall  justify.  I  am  sure 
the  work  will  not  stop  with  this  institution.  Now 
we  must  make  our  arrangements  for  furnishing, 
and  for  the  means  to  do  this,  we  must  depend 
chiefly  upon  ladies.  I  have  no  doubt  the  call  will 
be  promptly  met." 

53 


In  this  she  was  not  disappointed.  Groups  of 
ladies,  in  many  different  places,  became  responsi- 
ble for  the  furnishing  of  one  or  more  rooms.  She 
pleaded  for  promptness  in  this  work,  for  she  said, 
"Our  country  is  in  immediate  need  of  well  furn- 
ished and  self-denying  teachers.  The  calls  that 
come  to  New  England  are  multiplying  every  year, 
and  the  Seminary  at  Ipswich  (after  which  this 
is  to  be  modeled),  is  compelled  to  return  a 
negative  reply  to  many  such  applications.  The 
necessities  of  our  country  are  but  just  beginning 
to  be  realized." 

The  time  for  the  opening  of  the  school  arriv- 
ed, and  more  than  eighty  young  ladies  were  on 
the  spot.  Some  unexpected  delays  had  occurred, 
and  the  rooms  were  by  no  means  ready. 

But  these  were  not  inexperienced  girls.  Some 
of  them  were  at  least  twenty  years  of  age,  and 
had  a  knowledge  of  affairs  which  books  can  never 
give,  and  which,  in  the  exigencies  of  life,  is  to 
book  knowledge  what  gold  and  silver  are  to  the 
paper  currency  which  represents  them.  Miss  Lyon 
received  every  new  comer  with  the  welcome  of  a 
mother  to  a  daughter.  The  light  of  her  eye,  and 
the  benevolent  tones  of  her  voice,  went  directly  to 
the  heart  of  the  stranger.  Each  one  was  imme- 
diately enlisted  in  making  things  ready  as  soon 

54 


as  possible.  Never  were  gathered  in  one  place 
more  willing  hearts  or  more  nimble  feet.  By  ex- 
ample, precept  and  practice  they  learned  the  best 
of  lessons,  to  " endure  hardness  as  good  soldiers 
of  the  cross."  Many  of  them  came  with  supplies 
of  bedding,  etc.,  from  their  respective  towns,  so 
that  when  evening  drew  near,  all  were  comfort- 
ably domiciled.  Her  Father's  hand,  seen  in  each 
extremity,  sweetened  every  gift  and  gave  zest  to 
every  joy.  She  had  long  been  of  those  who  "  observ- 
ing providences  have  providences  to  observe."  How 
often,  with  seraphic  smile,  did  she  say:  "Whoso  is 
wise,  and  will  observe  these  things,  even  he  shall 
understand  the  loving  kindness  of  the  Lord." 

Let  the  embarrassment  be  what  it  might,  Miss 
Lyon  was  never  known  to  "worry,"  but  in  pa- 
tience she  uniformly  possessed  her  soul.  Like 
Joshua,  she  "was  strong  and  of  good  courage." 

That  feature  of  her  scheme  which  consisted  in 
having  the  domestic  work  performed  by  the  young 
ladies,  was  a  difficult  one  to  arrange;  but  she 
firmly  believed  that  it  might  be  so  planned  that 
one  hour  a  day  would  be  sufficient  to  accom- 
plish it.  This,  she  said,  would  promote  health 
and  instead  of  proving  a  hindrance  to  study 
would  be  a  valuable  means  of  mental  as  well  as 
physical  culture.  As  she  studied  the  subject  she 

55 


became  so  thoroughly  convinced  of  its  utility  in 
this  respect,  that  the  argument  of  the  mere  sav- 
ing of  expense  sank,  in  her  view,  into  compara- 
tive insignificance. 

In  a  circular,  published  just  before  the  opening 
of  the  school,  she  says:  "We  think  this  will  pro- 
mote the  health,  the  usefulness  and  the  happiness 
of  our  pupils;  their  health,  by  furnishing  a  little 
daily  exercise  of  the  best  kind;  their  usefulness,  by 
tending  to  preserve  their  interest  in  domestic  af- 
fairs, and  their  happiness  by  being  relieved  from 
great  dependence  upon  others.  The  adoption  of  a 
feature  like  this,  in  an  institution  which  aims  to 
be  better  endowed  than  any  existing  Seminary  in 
the  country  for  the  benefit  of  ladies,  must  give  it 
an  attitude  of  noble  independence  which  will  ex- 
ert an  elevating  influence  on  its  members." 

To  her  friends,  she  used  playfully  to  say:  "This 
peculiarity  will  prove  a  sieve  which  will  exclude 
the  indolent,  the  fastidious  and  the  weakly,  of 
whom  you  can  never  make  much,"  and  leave  "the 
finest  of  the  wheat,  the  energetic,  the  benevolent 
and  those  whose  early  training  has  been  favorable 
to  usefulness,  from  whom  you  may  reasonably  ex- 
pect great  things." 

Now  the  time  had  arrived  to  test  her  theory. 
There  were  many  predictions  of  failure.  Fully 

56 


determined  to  refute  all  objections,  and  to  sat- 
isfy all  donors,  she  gave  her  chief  attention,  at 
first,  to  the  domestic  department.  Although  she 
had  never  been  proficient  in  household  work,  she 
had  the  tact  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  discovering 
what  everybody  was  capable  of  doing,  and  the 
skill  of  a  Napoleon,  in  finding  her  generals  and 
putting  them  in  the  right  place.  But,  then,  it 
would  happen  that  the  best  person  to  superin- 
tend the  dinner-circle  belonged  to  a  geometry  class 
that  recited  at  11  o'clock!  What  was  to  be  done? 
It  was  easier  to  alter  the  time  of  a  recitation, 
than  to  find  a  competent  person  to  take  the 
scholar's  place  upon  the  dinner-circle.  But,  when 
the  recitation  hour  was  changed,  someone  else 
might  be  incommoded  and  another  change  must  be 
made.  Never  had  Miss  Lyon  more  scope  for  her 
inventive  powers.  But  her  resources  seemed  in- 
exhaustible. When,  for  the  twentieth  time,  the 
literary  and  domestic  departments  interferred  she 
set  herself  again  to  readjust  her  time-table  with 
as  much  cheerfulness,  as  she  had  in  constructing 
it  at  first. 

During  the  early  winter,  her  powers  of  body 
and  mind  were  on  the  alert  from  sixteen  to 
eighteen  hours  out  of  the  twenty-four.  From 
basement  to  attic,  she  was  in  constant  demand. 

57 


As  with  Joseph,  so  with  her:  " Whatsoever  was 
done  in  the  house,  she  was  the  doer  of  it."  It 
is  no  small  thing  for  a  matron,  with  well-trained 
and  ready  servants,  to  put  and  keep  everything 
in  order  in  so  large  a  house,  but  it  is  far  more 
to  lead  eighty  scholarly  girls  to  do  it.  But  all  had 
been  consecrated  to  Christ  and  was  regarded  by 
her,  as  His.  Whatever  was  necessary  to  the  health 
and  comfort  of  her  numerous  family,  was  as  vi- 
tally connected  with  His  cause,  in  her  view,  as 
the  most  direct  labors  for  the  salvation  of  souls. 
Many  a  winter  morning,  while  it  was  yet  dark 
and  cold,  she  has  left  her  comfortable  room  to 
watch  the  rising  of  the  bread,  with  an  eye  as 
single  to  the  glory  of  God  as  though  she  had 
risen  to  pray.  A  noble  band  was  that,  which 
gathered  in  those  halls  that  first  year;  young 
maidens  of  lofty  aims,  noble  impulses  and  steady 
devotion  to  Christ.  The  Lord  magnified  their 
leader  in  their  sight,  and  helped  them  to  see  with 
her  eyes  the  importance  of  her  plans,  and  to  enter 
into  the  work  with  a  zeal  scarcely  second  to  her 
own.  How  they  did  delight  to  rally  round  such  a 
leader !  Imbibing  her  spirit,  their  ambition  was  not 
so  much  to  gather  the  greatest  possible  amount 
from  books,  as  to  vie  with  each  other  in  the  noble 
strife  of  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the  institution. 

58 


As  Paul  was  no  less  an  apostle,  when  stitch- 
ing the  canvas  for  a  tent,  than  when  writing 
his  Epistles,  so  they,  instructed  by  their  Heaven- 
taught  guide,  felt  themselves  no  less  the  children 
of  a  Heavenly  King,  when  employed  at  their  do- 
mestic work,  than  when  worshiping  in  His  courts. 
"The  love  of  Christ  constrained  them"  in  the  one 
case  as  in  the  other.  Scattered  through  this  and 
other  lands  they  have,  almost  without  exception, 
been  real  workers,  serving  their  day  and  gener- 
ation, often  with  little  compensation,  save  the 
blessed  consciousness  of  sharing  in  Christ's  work. 
"Most  of  these  have  already  reached  the  goal  and 
received  their  crown.  But  here  or  there,  they  are 
sisters  all,  bound  to  one  another,  to  their  sainted 
teacher,  and  to  their  common  Lord  by  ties  in- 
visible, but  as  indissoluble,  as  that  which  bind 
the  satellites  to  their  planets  and  the  planets  to 
their  centre." 


59 


VL 

FIRST    GRADUATION. 

Nearly  all  the  pupils  of  the  first  year  were 
Christian  girls,  and  the  senior  class  were  advanced 
students,  when  they  entered.  The  first  graduation 
occurred  in  the  latter  part  of  August,  1837. 

Thursday  morning  rose  clear  and  bright.  Ex- 
aminations had  all  been  passed  and  were  well 
sustained.  Miss  Lyon,  with  womanly  modesty, 
shrank  from  leading  her  band  of  maidens  to  the 
church,  and,  so  far  as  propriety  would  allow,  in- 
sisted that  the  address  should  be  given  and  the 
diplomas  presented  in  the  Seminary  Hall.  But,  how- 
ever, she  submitted  this  matter  to  the  trustees. 
They  decided  in  favor  of  the  church,  and  under 
their  escort,  the  orator  of  the  day  (Dr.  Hawes,  of 
Hartford),  the  teachers,  the  senior  class  and  the 
school,  walked  with  heads  uncovered,  to  the  village 
church.  The  side  pews  and  galleries  were  already 
crowded  with  interested  spectators,  when  Miss 
Lyon  led  her  beautiful  troupe,  in  quiet  dignity, 
to  the  seats  reserved  for  them. 

It  was  an  hour  in  her  life  never  to  be  forgotten. 


The  battle  had  been  fought!  The  victory  won! 
Public  opinion  was  in  a  good  degree  favorable 
to  her  cause.  Wonder,  gratitude  and  praise  fill- 
ed her  heart  with  a  flood  of  emotions,  such  as 
ordinary  minds  can  faintly  conceive.  Her  great 
soul  was  surcharged  with  pent-up  joy.  Smiles 
and  tears  strove  for  the  mastery  on  her  radiant 
face.  Everything  was  done  to  her  mind.  Dr. 
Hawes'  address  was  practical  and  judicious.  Her 
beloved  pastor  and  friend,  Rev.  Joseph  D.  Con- 
dit,  secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trustees,  presented 
the  diplomas  to  the  three  eldest— born  daughters  of 
the  Seminary.  Henceforth  this  trio  were  to  be  her 
fellow-laborers  in  the  work  of  education.  He  who 
made  the  address,  and  he  who  presented  the  di- 
plomas— she  who  signed  them  and  those  who  re- 
ceived them,  now  mingle  their  praises  before  "the 
great  white  throne,"  but  the  guiding  cloud  which 
had  hovered  over  the  house,  rests  permanently 
within  its  walls. 

Welcome  to  her,  was  the  Shechinah  of  the  Lord. 
Henceforth  this  building  was  to  be  her  home. 
Its  inmates  were  to  be  her  children,  entrusted  to 
her  by  their  Heavenly  Father,  to  be  brought  up 
for  Him.  Like  a  true  Christian  mother,  she  knew 
no  joy  comparable  to  that  of  seeing  her  pupils 
"walking  in  the  Truth." 

61 


VIL 

METHODS    OF    GOVERNMENT. 

Her  mode  of  government  was  peculiar.  For 
every  principle,  she  had  a  scriptural  precept  or 
model.  When  requesting  her  pupils  not  to  visit 
each  other  on  the  Sabbath,  she  would  say:  "It 
is  not  in  my  power  to  make  you  keep  the  day 
holy  in  your  hearts,  but  it  is  our  duty  to  make 
your  circumstances  favorable  to  this;"  and  then 
would  remind  them  of  the  fourth  commandment. 

Violations  of  physiological  laws,  such  as  thin 
shoes  or  tight  waists,  were  shown  to  be  vio- 
lations of  the  sixth  command,  and  injuring  or 
not  returning  borrowed  articles,  with  all  care- 
less use  of  common  property,  were  shown  to 
be  forbidden  by  the  eighth.  Did  she  desire  to 
warn  against  the  treachery  of  a  frivolous  educa- 
tion, in  which  the  fingers  and  the  feet  were  chief- 
ly educated,  the  daughter  of  Herodias  was  ex- 
actly in  point.  "  This  young  lady,"  she  would 
say,  "who  could  move  with  so  much  grace  and 
beauty,  as  to  delight  the  king  and  his  court,  could 

62 


bear  to  her  mother,  in  her  own  delicate  hands, 
the  head  of  John  the  Baptist.  Thus  many  a 
young  lady  appears  in  the  parlor,  with  angelic 
sweetness  in  her  face  and  tones,  the  admired  of 
all  admirers,  when  she  has  a  moment  before,  pierced 
the  heart  of  her  mother,  with  cutting  words,  or 
roused  the  temper  of  a  weary  maid  by  harsh 
and  needless  fault-finding." 

In  so  large  an  establishment  many  rules  were 
necessary  to  order  and  comfort.  It  was  her 
custom  to  show  that  all  these  were  but  an  off- 
shoot of  the  first  or  second  great  commandment. 
Family  devotion,  public  worship  and  private 
prayer  were  the  natural  details  of  the  first.  "  Thou 
shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart;" 
and  putting  everything  in  its  place,  promptness 
at  meals,  faithfulness  in  domestic  duties,  were  but 
the  details  of  the  second,  "Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself."  She  was  accustomed  so  to 
set  forth  this  view,  that  the  heart  of  that  great 
school  would  cheerfully  respond.  Everything,  she 
told  us,  was  to  be  done,  not  to  the  teachers, 
but  to  the  Lord,  and  then  the  most  uninterest- 
ing household  duty  would  become  a  sacred  priv- 
ilege. 

Most  of  the  young  ladies,  after  observing    the 
rules  for  a  few  weeks,  saw  and  felt  that  they  were 

63 


adopted  and  enforced  for  their  happiness.  The 
moral  effect  on  susceptible  minds,  of  bringing  con- 
science to  bear  so  universally  and  equally  on  daily 
life,  was  very  great.  If  they  violated  a  rule  of  the 
school,  they  saw  that  they  violated  the  great  law 
of  love.  This  made  it  easy  for  them  to  do  right. 
It  made  them  vigilant  without  conscious  effort. 

Miss  Lyon  kept  all  the  rules  of  the  school  her- 
self. The  language  of  her  lips,  and  of  her  life,  was 
this:  "We  will  all  do  right  together.  It  is  easier 
to  conform  to  a  law  ourselves  than  to  oblige 
others  to  conform  to  it.  We  hope  you  will  not 
put  upon  us  this  painful  necessity.  We  trust  each 
of  you  will  do  right  of  choice — but  if  any  should 
refuse,  we  must  not  forget  the  case  of  Eli.  He 
expostulated  with  his  sons,  but  did  not  oblige  them 
to  mend  their  ways.  How  dreadful  was  the  end 
of  the  sons,  and  how  awful  God's  frown  upon  Eli! 

It  was  more  as  a  family,  than  as  a  school,  that 
Miss  Lyon  governed  her  pupils.  "Family  govern- 
ment," she  held,  "should  be  mild,  undeviating,  in- 
flexible, so  that,  on  the  part  of  the  parent,  nothing 
should  be  needful  but  advice;  on  the  part  of  the 
child,  nothing  but  respectful  obedience."  To  this 
point,  year  after  year,  she  brought  her  large  family. 
Occasionally  a  group  of  otherwise  respectable  stu- 
dents would  lean  the  wrong  way.  While  they 

64 


would  keep  the  letter  of  the  law,  their  spirits  would 
be  sadly  out  of  tune.  In  such  cases,  if  a  few  general 
remarks  did  not  remedy  the  evil,  she  would  take 
them,  each  one  alone,  to  her  room,  and  set  before 
them  the  wrong  they  were  doing  to  themselves 
and  to  the  beloved  institution. 

Seldom  did  she  fail  to  find  access,  in  this  way, 
to  the  hearts  of  the  most  perverse.  Having  seen 
her  tender  regard  for  them,  they  often  became  her 
closest  friends,  and  were  the  last  to  suffer  a  word 
against  her  to  be  uttered  in  their  presence.  In 
many  cases  they  would  say:  "Trust  me,  Miss 
Ly  on,  I  will  never  give  you  any  more  trouble." 
But  a  very  few  would  yield  to  no  remonstrances. 
When  it  became  necessary,  she  could  use  the  ampu- 
tating knife;  but  it  has  been  said  that  she  could 
expel  a  pupil  in  as  good  humor  as  she  received  one. 

"I  am  sorry  for  you,"  she  would  say,  "but  the 
good  of  this  beloved  school  requires  it.  God  in  his 
government  ever  consults  the  good  of  the  whole/ > 
Napoleon,  they  say,  always  took  it  for  granted 
that  everybody  was  selfish.  Miss  Lyon  took  it 
for  granted  that  everyone  with  whom  she  had  to 
do,  was  benevolent.  Her  own  soul  was  so  imbued 
with  love,  that  she  unconsciously  attributed  it  to 
others,  until  she  had  proved  it  to  be  otherwise. 
This  assumption  seemed  to  infuse  the  quality. 

65 


When  any  special  work  was  to  be  done,  for  the 
good  of  the  family,  she  would  not  ask,  "Is  any  one 
willing?  "  but  "  How  many  would  like  to  do  this  ?  " 
When  urging  a  pupil  to  some  self-denying  act,  like 
taking  an  uncongenial  or  indolent  room-mate,  it 
was  an  understood  principle,  in  all  her  reasonings, 
that  the  young  lady  addressed  had  a  tender  regard 
for  the  well-being  and  personal  comfort  of  the  girl 
in  question. 

"If  we  put  two  unfortunate  children  together, " 
she  would  say,  "they  will  surely  injure  one  another, 
Somebody  must  take  pity  on  them.  Who  can  do 
it  better  than  you?  Some  self-denial,  no  doubt, 
but,  then,  we  cannot  do  much  without  self-denial. 
I  made  up  my  mind  on  that  point  many  years 
ago."  She  would  talk  in  this  strain,  until  the 
young  lady  who  had  been  determined  not  to  room 
with  the  girl,  would  go  away  counting  it  a  privi- 
lege. If  she  were  introducing  the  habit  of  early 
rising,  she  would  say:  "People  who  run  around 
all  day  to  overtake  half  an  hour  that  they  lost  in 
the  morning,  never  accomplish  much.  You  may 
always  know  them  by  the  rip  in  the  glove,  a  string 
pinned  to  the  bonnet,  or  a  shawl  on  the  bannister 
which  they  had  no  time  to  put  away.  But  it  is  a 
fruitless  race.  Lost  time  can  never  be  recovered. 
You  have  come  here  to  make  the  most  of  your 

66 


time.  You  can  never  do  this  without  system,  and 
you  cannot  secure  this  without  a  regular  hour  for 
rising.  Decide  upon  some  hour.  If  your  hour  is 
five,  you  should  be  on  your  feet  before  the  clock 
has  done  striking.  Otherwise,  you  are  tardy,  and 
you  lose  some  self-respect  in  consequence.  Don't 
set  the  time  too  early.  It  would  be  better  for  you 
to  decide  to  rise  at  six,  when  you  might  rise  at 
five,  than  to  fail  of  meeting  your  own  appointment. 
Early  rising  for  each  individual  is  rising  at  the 
earliest  time  proper  for  her,  under  existing  circum- 
stances. The  hour  should  not  be  selected  in  the 
delicious  dreaminess  of  the  half-waking,  but  when 
you  ?*re  up  and  awake,  with  all  your  powers  in 
vigorous  exercise.  It  is  better  for  those  who  re- 
quire more  sleep  than  others,  to  take  it  in  the 
early  part  of  the  night." 

When  she  thought  they  were  prepared  to  make 
a  wise  decision,  she  asked  them  to  rise,  and  be 
seated  again  as  soon  as  they  had  chosen  their 
rising  hour  for  the  next  week.  In  the  freshness  of 
morning,  with  minds  unclouded  by  over-study  or 
unhealthy  excitement,  they  usually  decided  on  a 
much  earlier  hour  than  she  would  have  selected 
for  them.  But  the  irresolute  and  indolent  were 
unable  to  decide.  With  such,  and  with  any  who 
were  unamiable  and  inclined  to  *'  stand  it  out," 

67 


she  was  patient,  and  willing  to  stand  as  long  as 
they  did.  When  all  had  signified  that  their  decis- 
ion was  made,  they  were  instructed  to  write  it 
down  and  hand  it  to  her.  One  of  the  first  inquir- 
ies on  the  succeeding  day  would  be:  "How  did 
you  succeed,  young  ladies,  about  rising  at  the 
hour  you  set?"  A  large  majority  would  be  found 
to  have  kept  their  resolutions,  and  the  delinquents 
could  complain  of  no  one  but  themselves.  Having 
broken  their  own  rules,  and  fallen  short  of  their 
own  standard,  they  could  not  but  feel  self-con- 
demned. It  is  a  fact,  abundtantly  illustrated,  that 
character  so  moulded  grows  astonishingly  in  grace 
and  excellence. 


68 


VIIL 

PLANS  FOR  PROMOTING  CHRISTIAN   GROWTH. 

It  was  an  essential  part  of  Miss  Lyon's  purpose 
to  situate  her  pupils  favorably  for  growth  in  grace, 
if  they  desired  it.  Even  in  the  erection  of  the  orig- 
inal building,  she  made  such  arrangements,  that 
each  one  could  be  alone,  and  entirely  free  from 
intrusion  half  an  hour  in  the  morning  and  the 
same  time  before  retiring.  They  were  quite  free 
to  spend  it  as  they  chose,  and  in  making  their 
reports  were  never  asked  how  they  had  used  it, 
but  simply  whether  they  had  been  undisturbed  and 
guiltless  of  disturbing  others.  In  her  morning  in- 
struction in  the  hall,  she  spoke  of  the  precept  of 
the  Saviour:  " Enter  into  thy  closet,"  and  made 
suggestions  as  to  the  best  manner  of  improving 
the  time.  No  illustration  can  do  justice  to  her 
teachings,  but  they  were  much  in  the  following 
strain:  "Read  a  small  portion  of  God's  Word  and 
ask  for  His  spirit  to  help  you  to  get  all  his  mean- 
ing. Don't  think  you  must  read  a  certain  number 
of  verses.  Cultivate  a  receptive  attitude,  and  read 


till  you  come  to  something  that  especially  attracts 
you.  I  think  it  is  better  to  read  in  course.  You 
will  be  more  likely  to  read  regularly.  It  is  surpris- 
ing how  those,  who  are  led  by  the  spirit  of  God, 
find  in  a  regular  course  of  reading,  just  the  instruc- 
tion they  especially  need." 

Again,  she  would  say,  "Before  you  kneel,  consider 
just  what  you  most  need,  and  use  any  words  that 
come  most  naturally,  spreading  everything  before 
Him.  Remember  your  mercies.  Render  thanks  for 
His  goodness,  and  when  love  comes  into  your  soul 
tell  Jesus  that  you  love  Him  and  give  yourself  to 
Him.  Pray  tor  others.  Pray  for  them  by  name. 
Make  your  petition  definite,  rather  than  general. 
What  an  unspeakable  privilege  to  speak  alone 
to  the  King,  in  the  name  of  an  acceptable  Media- 
tor." At  these  appointed  seasons,  their  seclusion 
was  as  perfect  as  though  they  had  been  on  Tabor's 
hill.  The  school  was  divided  into  sections,  each  one 
being  committed  to  a  teacher,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
have  special  oversight  of  the  manners,  conduct  and 
religious  welfare  of  those  belonging  to  her  section. 

No  extra  means  were  ever  employed.  A  person 
might  live  there  for  weeks,  during  a  time  of  special 
interest,  and  discover  nothing  unusual,  except,  per- 
haps, more  tenderness  during  religious  exercises. 
The  religious  interest  would  never  be  introduced  to 

70 


the  visitor,  unless  he  expressed  a  special  interest. 
Then  he  would  find  a  fountain,  ready  to  overflow 
when  the  channel  was  opened,  and  he  would  see 
that  in  their  closets  lay  the  secret  of  the  constant 
descent  of  the  Spirit. 

A  missionary  meeting  was  monthly  maintained. 
Its  object  was  to  disseminate  the  latest  informa- 
tion in  regard  to  the  moral  and  religious  condition 
of  the  world.  Letters  from  missionaries,  who  had 
gone  from  these  halls,  formed  a  set  of  electric 
wires,  through  which  the  missionary  spirit  was 
transmitted. 

Personal  consecration  is  the  strongest  evidence 
of  interest,  but  money -giving  is  also  an  index,  and 
it  is  remarkable  that  the  annual  offering  in  the 
early  years,  ranged  from  six  to  eleven  hundred  dol- 
lars, although  the  salaries  of  the  teachers  never 
exceeded  two  hundred  dollars,  and  the  pupils  were, 
many  of  them,  the  daughters  of  ministers  and  other 
men  of  limited  means.  Miss  Lyon  always  said: 
4 'Be  satisfied  with  nothing  but  the  Bible  standard 
of  giving.  He  knows  your  circumstances.  Answer 
to  Him.  I  don't  believe  in  the  maxim,  'Never  the 
poorer  for  giving  to  the  Lord/  unless  it  means  spir- 
itually poor.  Then  I  fully  indorse  it,  but  we  ought 
to  give,  until  we  are  the  poorer  in  dollars  and 
cents." 

71 


IX. 

CO-OPERATION  OF  TEACHERS. 

Miss  Lyon's  teachers  warmly  endorsed  her  meth- 
ods. If  they  had  not,  they  could,  to  a  great  ex- 
tent, have  counteracted  her  efforts.  She  had  care- 
fully guarded  against  this.  At  her  suggestion,  the 
Trustees,  from  the  first,  adopted  the  rule  that  the 
right  of  appointing  the  teachers  should  be  vested 
in  the  principal.  On  no  consideration  would  she 
have  taken  the  responsibility  of  a  school  where 
this  was  not  conceded.  Her  teachers  must  be  a 
trained  band,  with  congenial  views. 

The  first  year  all  were  from  the  Ipswich  school. 
After  that  they  were  selected  from  her  own 
graduates.  Like  her,  they  wished  to  labor,  not 
for  money  or  for  fame,  but  to  benefit  the  world. 
In  selecting  them  her  first  question  was  not,  "Are 
you  of  one  religious  denomination  or  another;" 
but,  "Are  you  like  the  Master,  willing  to  make 
yourself  poor  that  others,  through  your  poverty, 
maybe  rich?" 

They  could  have  commanded  large  salaries  else- 
where, but  money  was  not  the  motive  which  kept 
them  at  that  alma  mater.  However  they  might 

72 


differ  in  tastes  and  attainments,  they  all  believed 
this  to  be  a  model  school,  especially  in  giving  the 
Bible  the  first  place  in  its  list  of  studies,  and  in  the 
methods  of  discipline  adopted.  They  kept  con- 
stantly in  mind,  that  at  the  winding  up  of  life's 
drama,  they  and  their  pupils  are  not  to  be  asked 
how  much  Latin  and  algebra  they  knew,  but 
whether  they  had  loved  and  followed  Christ,  and 
were  united  to  Him  as  "the  branch  is  united  to 
the  vine."  They  believed  that  the  sense  of  ac- 
countability to  God  would  secure  a  higher  stand- 
ard of  study  among  the  young  ladies  than  any 
method  drawn  from  the  world  of  time  and  sense. 

At  the  weekly  meeting  of  these  teachers  there 
was,  we  are  told,  no  discord.  They  seemed  to  see 
"eye  to  eye."  Miss  Lyon  mingled  with  them,  as  an 
older  sister,  ever  ready  to  receive  their  suggestions. 
No  slurs  on  unsuccessful  scholars  were  allowed. 

"Speak  of  them  as  sisters,"  was  Miss  Lyon's 
oft-repeated  injunction,  and  the  precept  was  ob- 
served in  letter  and  in  spirit.  The  progress  of  the 
young  ladies  in  whatever  was  "lovely  and  of  good 
report"  was  reported  here,  and  the  extra  effort 
necessary,  on  behalf  of  those  who  were  not  mak- 
ing the  best  use  of  their  time,  was  apportioned 
among  them.  A  certain  pastoral  care  was  exer- 
cised by  them  all. 

73 


X. 

ENDS    ACCOMPLISHED. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  present  century 
the  standard  of  female  education  was  low,  as 
proven  by  the  statistics  of  the  National  Board 
of  Education.  A  trio  of  ladies  appeared  with  ad- 
vanced thoughts  upon  the  subject:  Emma  Hart, 
afterwards  Mrs.  Willard,  of  Troy,  N.  Y.,  born 
in  1787;  Mary  Lyon,  ten  years  later,  and  Cath- 
erine Beecher  in  1800.  Their  style  and  methods 
were  different,  but  they  were  equally  in  earnest. 

With  Mrs.  Willard  the  esthetic  element  was 
dominant.  Miss  Beecher,  perhaps  the  greatest 
genius  of  the  three,  was  least  concentrated  in  her 
plans,  and  chose  the  Western  States  as  her  field. 
Miss  Lyon's  leading  thought  was  to  prepare  con- 
secrated minds  for  the  service  of  Christ  in  the 
great  work  of  elevating  humanity. 

In  1838  private  benevolence  placed  $10,000  at 
the  disposal  of  Horace  Mann,  secretary  of  the 
Massachusetts  Board  of  Education,  towards  es- 
tablishing a  state  school  for  the  special  training 

74. 


of  teachers,  and  in  1839  such  a  school  was  plant- 
ed at  Lexington  in  that  State.  But  Ipswich  and 
Holyoke  had  for  years  been  earnestly  engaged  in 
that  work,  and  many  of  their  pupils  were  already 
employed.  Others  were  building  homes  in  destitute 
American  fields,  and  some  were  shedding  light  on 
foreign  shores.  Deeply  convinced  that  neither  men 
of  science,  merchant  princes  or  busy  politicians 
could  regenerate  the  world,  without  the  effective 
ministry  of  mothers  rising  early  and  sowing  good 
seed,  nipping  vice  in  the  bud  and  maintaining  the 
cause  of  God  as  their  own,  she  sought  daily  to 
impress  it  on  others. 

We  regard  Miss  Lyon  as  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society.  Before 
leaving  her  native  town  she  organized  a  society  of 
young  ladies  "  For  the  enlargement  of  Zion's  Tab- 
ernacle"—  and  with  her  youthful  coadjutors  can- 
vassed their  rural  district  for  members. 

Mrs.  Bowker,  of  Boston,  first  president  of  the 
New  England  Branch,  always  referred  to  Miss 
Lyon  as  "The  source  of  her  inspiration,"  and 
many  others  would  give  similar  testimony.  But 
although  her  desires  embraced  the  world,  she  neg- 
lected nothing  she  could  do  at  home.  While  speed- 
ing workers  to  the  foreign  field,  she  sent  many 
more  every  year  to  needy  places  in  our  own 

75 


country,  and  in  regard  to  many  of  them  she  was 
especially  enthusiastic.    She  quotes  from  one: 

"With  my  baby  on  my  knee  I  am  teaching 
seventeen  pupils.  Have  already  sent  out  several 
teachers  and  others  are  preparing  to  go." 

In  the  autumn  of  1848  she  missed  from  her 
staff  of  teachers  three,  on  whom  she  had  much 
relied:  Miss  Abigail  Moore  was  married  to  Rev. 
Ebenezer  Burgess,  of  Satara,  India;  Miss  Maude 
Chapin  to  Rev.  Allen  Hagen,  of  Ahmednagar,  and 
Miss  Lucy  Lyon  to  Rev.  Edward  C.  Lord,  mis- 
sionary to  China.  Two  of  these  were  her  own 
nieces.  They  were  all  greatly  blessed  in  their  la- 
bors abroad,  but  she  sadly  missed  them.  In  ad- 
dition to  the  journal,  which  was  kept  for  them 
in  the  Seminary,  Miss  Lyon  wrote,  occasionally, 
what  she  called  a  circular  letter,  to  her  daugh- 
ters in  foreign  lands,  from  one  of  which  we  ex- 
tract a  few  sentences  to  show  how  she  kept  in 
touch  with  them  all: 

"I  will  not  refer  to  passing  events,  as  I  know 
you  are  kept  informed  of  these— nor  can  I  tell 
you  any  new  truths  or  repeat  new  promises 
which  God  has  given  to  light  the  feet  of  pilgrims 
to  the  Celestial  City,  but  I  would  like  to  tell 
you  how  God  is  fulfilling  His  promises  to  me, 
and  how  He  is  visiting  the  Seminary,  not  with 

76 


the  whirlwind  or  the  fire,  but  with  the  still  small 
voice  of  the  Spirit.  May  you  all  be  rich  in  faith 
and  in  labor,  at  last  receiving  a  crown  of  glory 
which  shall  never  fade  away." 

But  Miss  Lyon's  chief  work  was  always  in  the 
Seminary.  Among  the  careless,  one  year,  were 
thirty  who  had  listened  to  Miss  Lyon's  instruc- 
tions before,  and  it  was  feared  that  they  were 
Gospel-hardened,  and  sixty  newly  entered,  who  did 
not  consider  themselves  Christians,  making  near- 
ly ninety  in  all.  Miss  Lyon  was  accustomed  to 
spend  an  hour  with  these  each  Sabbath  evening. 
But  a  heavy  cold  confined  her  for  weeks  to  her 
room.  One  of  the  other  teachers  took  her  place, 
but  she  became  much  discouraged,  and  said  she 
could  not  again  undertake  to  secure  their  atten- 
tion. Then  a  band  of  youthful  Christians  volun- 
teered their  assistance,  and  a  wonderful  work 
was  wrought.  Some  say  it  is  wonderful  how  the 
blessing  of  God,  in  converting  power,  seemed  al- 
ways to  rest  upon  that  school.  But  is  it  won- 
derful, in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  teachers  were 
united  in  seeking  ''first  the  kingdom  of  God?" 


77 


XL 

LAST    DAYS. 

Although,  when  one's  life  has  been  single-eyed 
or  the  glory  of  God,  the  circumstances  of  their 
death  are  really  of  little  importance.  Yet,  to  those 
who  knew  Miss  Lyon  and  to  such  as  have  be- 
come interested  in  her  character,  through  testimony, 
even  these  are  full  of  interest. 

A  few  weeks  before  the  close  of  her  life  she 
seemed  providentially  led  to  her  chosen  retreat  in 
Monson,  with  Deacon  and  Mrs.  Porter,  whose  friend- 
ship she  greatly  prized,  and  who  always  secured 
for  her  the  retirement  she  desired.  She  accepted 
their  hospitality  most  gratefully,  as  from  Heav- 
en's own  hand,  and  regarded  it  as  needful  prep- 
aration for  earthly  duties.  In  this  case,  how- 
ever, it  was  to  fit  her  for  a  higher  sphere. 

To  her  niece  in  India  she  wrote:  "I  am  tak- 
ing an  old-fashioned  vacation,  in  this  sweet- 
est of  resting  places.  I  can  read  or  write,  ride 
or  visit,  with  nothing  to  disturb  me,  and  with 
scarcely  a  thought  of  home,  except  as  I  pray 

78 


that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  dwell  there.  My  health 
is  unusually  good,  but  at  all  times,  whether  my 
strength  is  more  or  less,  I  realize  that  I  am  fast 
hastening  to  my  eternal  home. 

"I  hope,  however,  that  I  may  have  more  work 
to  do  upon  earth,  and  that  it  all  may  be  faith- 
fully done.  By  grace  we  have  been  redeemed,  by 
grace  we  are  sanctified;  every  one's  work  is  ap- 
pointed, and  by  grace  alone  we  have  the  strength 
and  heart  to  do  it.  This  doctrine  of  grace  is 
more  and  more  precious  to  me  now,  and  what 
will  it  be  hereafter,  when  we  stand  with  our  '  robes 
washed  and  made  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb!' 
My  work,  as  you  know,  is  made  up  of  an  al 
most  endless  variety  of  nameless  duties  interwov- 
en and  often  complicated.  It  is  a  goodly  heri- 
tage of  labor,  but  every  hour  I  feel  the  need 
of  an  internal  force  that  is  divine  to  carry  me 
on  in  the  right  path.  When,  in  the  midst  of  my 
work,  I  am  unexpectedly  called  from  one  thing 
to  another,  I  whisper  in  my  heart:  'Lord,  help 
me  to  be  patient,  and  in  all  things  to  be  faith- 
ful.' How  amazing  it  is  that  grace  allows  us  to  do 
all  for  Christ,  and  permits  us  always  to  pray  in 
His  name." 

Miss  Whitman  was  at  this  time  absent  from  the 
Sminary,    on    account  of  impaired  health,  and  in 

79 


writing  to  her,  Miss  Lyon  says:  "I  have  been 
thinking  that  we  might  rest  and  read  together, 
somewhere  among  the  mountains,  during  our  next 
vacation.  So,  you  see,  I  am  looking  forward  to  an- 
other rest  in  the  autumn." 

She  found  rest,  but  not  upon  earth.  Her  autumn 
months  were  to  be  spent  amid  celestial  scenes — in 
companionship  with  Christ  himself  and  the  spirits 
of  the  just  made  perfect,  some  of  whom  she  had 
guided  to  that  blessed  home.  In  March  one  of  the 
young  ladies  had  a  severe  attack  of  influenza. 
Erysipelas  of  malignant  type  set  in.  Miss  Lyon 
had  also  been  suffering  from  influenza,  which  was 
very  prevalent  at  that  time,  but  she  insisted  on 
being  with  the  sick  one,  making  all  arrangements 
for  conveying  the  intelligence,  as  quickly  and 
gently  as  possible,  to  her  friends,  and  met  the 
young  ladies  in  the  Hall,  both  morning  and  even- 
ing. She  found  them  naturally  much  excited,  fear- 
ing an  epidemic,  and  soothed  and  quieted  them 
in  the  most  motherly  way.  Addressing  herself  to 
the  assembled  school,  she  said : 

"I  look  upon  all  distressing  anxiety  about  the 
future  as  indicative  of  distrust  in  God"  — adding 
those  words,  since  placed  upon  her  monument: 
"  There  is  nothing  in  the  Universe  that  I  fear,  but 
that  I  shall  not  know  all  my  duty,  or  shall  fail 

80 


to  do  it."  She  then  turned  their  attention  from 
the  painful  circumstances,  and  seemed  to  follow 
the  dying  one  to  the  gates  of  the  Celestial  City, 
which  stood  open  to  receive  her,  exclaiming,  "If 
I  were  in  her  place  how  happy  I  should  be  to 
go  in,"  but  quickly  added,  "Not  that  I  would 
be  unclothed,  while  I  can  do  anything  for  you." 
She  then  addressed  the  impenitent  in  a  most  im- 
pressive manner,  expressing  her  gratitude  that  the 
one  called  for,  was  not  of  their  number,  and 
said  with  much  feeling:  "If  one  of  you  had  been 
in  her  place,  I  could  not  have  gone  down  with 
you  to  that  world  of  despair.  It  would  have  been 
too  painful  for  me,  and  I  should  have  felt  that  I 
must  draw  the  veil  and  leave  you."  She  then  urged 
them  to  enter  at  once  on  the  loving  service  of 
Christ,  not  through  fear  of  death,  but  in  view  of 
His  lovely  character  and  His  infinite  claims  upon 
them.  The  next  morning  she  was  very  sick  herself, 
and  grew  rapidly  worse.  Those  in  attendance  were 
alarmed.  Her  pastor  called.  For  a  moment  his 
voice  recalled  her,  but  reason  soon  fled.  He  bent 
over  and  said:  "Is  Christ  precious  to  you  now?" 
She  lifted  both  hands  and  replied  audibly  and  with 
emphasis,  "Yes."  This  was  her  last  rational 
word.  He  repeated  short  sentences  from  God's 
Word,  and,  for  the  moment,  she  seemed  to  un- 

81 


derstand  and  appreciate  them.  Those  which  re- 
ferred to  the  glory  of  God  seemed  to  interest 
her  most.  She  tried  to  speak,  but  could  not. 
Mr.  Laurie  said:  "Don't  try.  God  can  be  glori- 
fied by  silence,"  and  she  responded  with  a  smile. 
An  hour  later  her  freed  spirit  was  mingling  in  the 
glories  of  heaven.  We  would  not  recall  her ;  rather 
would  we  be  thankful  for  the  life  so  long  be- 
stowed. 

Funeral  services  were  held  in  the  village  church 
into  which,  on  anniversary  occasions,  she  had  so 
often  led  her  band  of  white-robed  maidens.  Dr. 
Humphrey,  of  Amherst  College,  preached  from  the 
double  text:  "The  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shin- 
ing light  which  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the 
perfect  day,"  and  "The  memory  of  the  just  is 
blessed."  The  procession  moved  to  the  place  chosen 
for  burial— on  Seminary  ground— a  little  south  of 
the  orchard,  where  it  could  be  distinctly  seen 
from  the  rooms  on  that  side  of  the  building.  It 
is  a  sacred  spot  and  has  been  visited  by  thousands. 
Soon  after,  a  monument  of  Italian  marble  was 
erected,  a  square  column  resting  on  a  pedestal  of 
granite.  The  inscriptions  are  as  follows: 


82 


MARY  LYON, 

THE  FOUNDER  OF 

MOUNT  HOLYOKE  FEMALE  SEMINARY, 

AND 
FOR  TWELVE  YEARS,  ITS  PRINCIPAL. 

A  TEACHER  FOR  THIRTY-FIVE  YEARS 

OF 
MORE  THAN  THREE  THOUSAND  PUPILS. 


BORN  FEBRUARY  28  TH,  1797. 
DIED  MARCH  STH,  1849. 

On  the  north  side: 

"Give  her  of  the  fruit  of  her  hands,  and  let 
her  own  works  praise  her  in  the  gates." 

On  the  south  side: 

"  Servant  of  God,  well  done; 

Rest  from  thy  lov'd  employ; 
The  battle  fought,  the  victory  won, 

Enter  thy  Master's  joy — " 

On   the   east   side,  the   trustees    directed   to   be 
placed  her  own  emphatic  words: 

"There  is  nothing  in  the  Universe  that  I  fear, 
but  that  I  shall  not  know  all  my  duty,  or  shall 
fail  to  do  it." 


83 


XII. 

TESTIMONIALS  AFTER  DEATH. 

We  gather  a  few  extracts  from  Dr.  Humphreys* 
sermon  and  Dr.  Hitchcock's  anniversary  address 
the  following  year. 

Dr.  Humphreys  says:  "Her  mind  was  of  high 
order,— clear,  strong  and  well-balanced.  It  is  very 
rare  to  find  such  strength  and  order  controlled  by 
the  best  common  sense.  Taken  all  in  all,  I  hardly 
dare  to  express  the  high  estimation  which  my 
long  acquaintance  constrains  me  to  cherish,  lest  I 
should  seem  to  exaggerate.  I  certainly  should  not 
express  it,  but  in  the  presence  of  those  who  have 
had  equal  or  better  opportunities  for  marking  her 
radiant  and  upward  course.  Yet  it  was  the 
moral  and  religious  in  Miss  Lyon's  character  that 
eclipsed  all  her  other  endowments.  To  say  that 
she  was  eminently  benevolent  is  not  enough.  She 
seemed  the  very  embodiment  of  love.  In  humble 
imitation  of  Christ,  she  manifested  it  in  face  and 
conduct  wherever  she  went,  not  consulting  her 

84 


own  convenience.  I  appeal  to  all  who  knew  her 
beneficent  course  from  early  life,  if  she  did  not  live 
incomparably  more  for  others,  than  she  did  for  her- 
self. I  do  not  believe  that  a  single  being  can  recall 
an  instance  in  which,  since  she  entered  on  her 
bright  career,  she  seemed  to  be  actuated  by  selfish- 
ness, but  all  the  thousands  who  knew  her,  might 
be  challenged  to  show  that  she  ever,  by  word  or 
deed,  seemed  to  prefer  her  own  advantage  to  the 
good  of  others." 

Dr.  Hitchcock  says:  "It  is  just  to  state,  in  re- 
gard to  her  mind,  that  there  was  an  unusual  de- 
velopment of  all  the  powers  without  the  predomi- 
nance of  any;  and  yet  she  had  most  striking 
traits.  She  possessed,  in  a  peculiar  degree,  the 
ability  to  seize  the  main  points  and  master  the 
principles  on  which  a  subject  rested.  She  did  not 
so  naturally  attend  to  details,  but  finding  this  to 
be  indispensable,  she  yielded  with  so  good  a  grace 
that  she  seemed  to  be  following  an  instinct  of  her 
nature.  Without  this,  she  could  never  have  excelled 
as  she  did,  in  the  laboratory  or  in  planning  the 
Seminary  building.  The  inventive  powers  were 
notably  developed,  not  the  poetic,  but  the  ability 
to  devise  means  for  overcoming  difficulties.  Truth- 
ful as  an  echo,  and  clear  as  the  sky  on  a  sunny 
day,  she  was  always  controlled  by  good  judgment. 

85 


"  What  an  amount  of  labor  has  been  lost  in  this 
world  for  want  of  discretion!  Rarely  did  she  lose 
any  effort  for  lack  of  this,  though  her  sagacity 
was  often  severely  tested.  It  was  a  great  trial  to 
her,  that  she  sometimes  felt  compelled  to  act  con- 
trary to  the  judgment  of  those  she  much  esteemed, 
but  having  carefully  and  prayerfully  surveyed  the 
ground,  the  path  seemed  radiant  to  her  eyes,  though 
to  others  it  might  be  enveloped  in  mist;  and  it  is 
but  justice  to  say,  that  almost  every  one  ultimately 
acknowledged  her  wisdom.  She  possessed,  in  a  re- 
markable degree,  the  power  of  mental  abstraction. 
When  engaged  on  an  important  subject  no  truant 
thoughts  or  irritated  nerves  seemed  ever  to  in- 
trude, nor  could  the  external  world  break  up  her 
almost  mesmeric  concentration.  She  also  possessed 
a  peculiar  power  of  controlling  other  minds.  Before 
you  were  aware,  her  well-woven  net  of  real  argu- 
ment was  over  you,  and  you  felt  that  the  fingers 
of  love  and  knowledge  had  woven  it,— that  she  was 
actuated  by  most  benevolent  motives,  and  that  it 
was  hazardous  for  you  to  resist  so  much  light  and 
love.  Her  energy  was  a  placid  power,  yet  it  had 
great  strength.  It  might  fail  of  success  to-day, 
but  she  could  quietly  wait  till  to-morrow.  But, 
after  all  that  has  been  said,  her  religious  convic- 
tions were  her  chief  motive  power. 

86 


"In  ordinary  acquaintance,  one  would  rarely 
perceive  how  deep  and  pure  was  her  loyalty  to 
Christ,  as  the  foundation  of  her  piety, — but  I  have 
looked  back  over  nay  long  acquaintance  with  her 
to  find  a  single  instance,  in  which  she  manifested 
unchristian  feeling  or  showed  the  lurkings  of  world- 
ly pride  or  selfish  ambition,  and  I  confess  I  cannot 
remember  one.  They  might  have  existed,  but  it 
needed  a  keener  moral  vision  than  I  had,  to  discover 
them.  There  were  two  principles  which  always 
controlled  her, — a  sense  of  personal  responsibility, 
and  faith  in  the  loving  providence  of  God.  These 
convictions  led  her,  in  the  early  morning  of  her  day, 
to  regard  knowledge  'more  precious  than  silver,* 
and  to  discipline  all  her  powers,  polishing  her  armor, 
for  the  battle  of  life. 

"  Conscious  that  her  hand  was  placed  in  the  hand 
of  the  Infinite  Father,  she  took  step  by  step  with 
as  much  confidence  as  though  an  iron  pavement 
was  before  her,  and  her  life  was  always  approaching 
a  climax.  Each  step  seemed  a  gain  on  the  preceding. 
One  extract  from  her  '  Missionary  Offering '  will 
show  how  deeply  the  sense  of  personal  responsi- 
bility possessed  her:  'I  felt  that  my  duty  in  my 
own  little  sphere  was  more  to  me,  in  the  sight  of 
God,  than  the  duty  to  the  whole  world  beside.  If 
I  could  throw  my  influence  over  the  whole  country, 

87 


and  bring  thousands  into  the  treasury  of  the  Lord, 
it  might  not  be  so  important  a  duty  for  me,  as  to 
give  from  my  own  little  purse,  the  last  farthing 
which  God  requires.  Could  I  so  plead  in  be- 
half of  the  heathen  that  all  our  churches  should- 
be  filled  with  hearts  bowed  in  the  presence  of  God, 
it  might  not  be  so  important  a  duty  for  me,  as  to 
carry  my  own  feeble  petition  to  the  throne  of  grace.' 

"  Her  uniform  cheerfulness  was  one  element  of  her 
power.  No  doubt  her  remarkable  health  contrib- 
uted largely  to  this.  But,  more  than  that,  she  was 
conscious  of  God's  approval.  She  knew  that  she 
meant  to  promote  the  good  and  the  happiness  of 
others,  and  that,  therefore,  God  approved  of  her 
conduct.  She  expected  the  final  reward  from  Him, 
therefore  perverseness  or  ingratitude  in  others  only 
brought  her  nearer  to  Him.  What  an  example  for 
our  imitation!  Most  of  us  try  to  mix  selfishness 
and  benevolence,— principles  as  repellant  as  oil  and 
water, — and  the  result  is,  we  are  double-minded, 
inconsistent  and  unhappy. 

"  Given,  purity  of  motive  and  convictions  that 
we  are  in  the  path  of  duty,  any  one  may.  attain 
at  least  a  measure  of  her  success  in  life.  It  was 
God's  gift  to  Mary  Lyon,  and  just  as  surely  will 
be  ours.  A  great  motive  is  essential  to  happiness, 
and  this  she  early  possessed.  Therefore,  she  was 

88 


radiant  with  hope.  One  who  knew  her  well  has 
said:  'Never  did  I  see  a  cloud  upon  her  face/ 
Through  'the  telescope  of  faith  she  could  always 
see  clear  sky.' 

"As  a  teacher  of  science  and  literature,  she  pos- 
sessed great  versatility  of  talents,  and  was 
distinguished  for  thorough  work.  Those  who 
have  attended  the  examinations  of  her  classes  have 
been  convinced  of  this.  On  one  occasion,  after  the 
senior  class  had  recited  to  Miss  Lyon  in  Butler's 
Analogy,  we  remarked  the  conversation  between 
two  college  presidents.  One  said:  'How  is  it  that 
these  young  ladies  recite  better  in  this,  than  our 
young  men?'  'I  do  not  know,'  he  replied,  'unless 
they  have  a  better  teacher.' 

"Whatever  she  taught,  she  did  it  with  an  enthu- 
siasm which  her  pupils,  of  necessity,  shared.  Better 
than  most  of  us,  she  knew  her  own  deficiencies. 
One  may  possess  the  rarest  gifts,  and  yet  for  the 
lack  of  a  few  may  fail  in  their  life  work.  One  or 
two  small  leaks  will  sink  the  largest  ship,  unless 
foreseen  and  provided  against. 

"Miss  Lyon  began  life  under  many  disadvan- 
tages, and  was  originally  a  crude  force  in  compari- 
son with  many  others.  She  felt  her  deficiencies , 
and  with  energy  and  courage,  aided  by  a  happy 
disposition,  she  took  herself  in  hand,  determined 

89 


to  conquer  her  undesirable  self,  and  on  the  ruins  of 
her  conquest  to  build  a  brave  and  lovable  woman, 
'fit  for  the  Master's  use/  After  passing  a  period  of 
mental  drill,  mainly  practiced  upon  herself,  after 
extended  culture  and  much  experience,  she  found  that 
she  still  lacked  some  constitutional  traits.  She 
knew  there  were  some  details  she  could  not  most 
successfully  conduct,  and  she  set  herself  to  seek  out 
those  who  could.  'Great  to  plan,  less  perfect  in  de- 
tail, she  wrought  the  system  into  perfect  whole,  but 
gave  the  work  to  others,  who  could  fit  the  parts 
with  more  facility  than  she.  As  chief  commander, 
few  her  peers.  None  better  knew  to  choose  her  aids ; 
here  lies  the  secret  of  a  grand  and  useful  life.' 

"  It  was  a  scene  of  moral  grandeur  when,  on  the 
fiftieth  anniversary  of  her  birth,  she  looked  out 
upon  hundreds  of  women  laboring  for  the  world, 
who  had  been  converted  through  her  instrumen- 
tality, and  not  less  than  three  thousand  dissemin- 
ating the  truths  which  she  had  taught  them.  Nor 
could  she  fail  to  see  the  widening  influence  of  the 
new  Seminary  until  'the  world  shall  be  filled  with 
the  knowledge  of  the  Lord.' 

"The  picture  is  complete.  Her  life  was  neither 
too  long  or  too  short.  She  died  at  the  right  time, 
while  her  armor  was  bright.  She  was  beginning 
to  feel  the  limitations  of  time.  I  would  not  like  to 

90 


call  her  back.  Rather  would  I  be  borne  on  angels ' 
wings  to  Mount  Zion,  where  she  dwells,  and  hear 
her  speak  of  the  wonders  of  Providence  in  her  earth- 
ly course  as  she  sees  them  now  in  the  transparen- 
cies of  Heaven.  I  would  like  to  know  how  her 
earthly  discipline  fitted  her  for  her  present  sphere 
of  labor  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  whether  in 
some  way,  as  yet  unfolded  to  us,  she  does  not  still 
minister  to  her  beloved  Seminary. 

1  'Alas!  these  aspirations  are  vain;  but  if  we  are 
faithful,  as  was  our  glorified  friend,  our  song  and 
our  communion  will  be  the  music  and  intercourse 
of  Heaven,  and  that  will  be  enough."* 

In  a  notice  of  Miss  Lyon,  soon  after  her  death, 
Miss  Lyman,  of  Montreal,  at  that  time  lady  princi- 
pal of  Vassar  College,  asks :  "Is  she  missed  ?  Scarce- 
ly a  State  in  the  American  Union  but  contains  those 
whom  she  had  trained.  Ere  this,  amid  the  hunt- 
ing-grounds of  the  Sioux,  and  the  villages  of  the 
Cherokees,  the  tear  of  the  missionary  has  wet  the 
page  which  told  of  her  departure.  The  Sandwich 
Islander  has  asked,  why  his  white  teacher's  eye 
is  dim,  as  she  reads  her  American  letters?  The 
swarthy  African  laments,  with  his  sorrowing 
guide,  who  cries,  'Help,  Lord,  for  the  godly  man 
ceaseth.'  The  cinnamon  groves  of  Ceylon  and  the 

'President  Hitchcock,  "  Entered  Into  Life,"  February,  1864. 

91 


palm  trees  of  India  will  over-shadow  her  deceased 
daughters,  while  those  left  to  bear  the  burden 
and  heat  of  the  day  will  weep  for  one  whose 
prayers  and  letters  they  so  highly  prized.  Among 
the  Nestorians  of  Persia,  and  at  the  base  of  Mt. 
Olympus,  will  her  name  be  softly  breathed  as  the 
household  name  of  one  whom  God  hath  taken. 
We  can  only  add  the  eloquent  tribute  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Culyer  after  the  graduating  exercises  in  1879,  and 
even  this  we  must  epitomize:  'That  procession  of 
nearly  three  hundred  white-robed  maidens  was,  to 
my  mind,  a  triumphal  procession  in  honor  of 
Mary  Lyon.  Her  body  has  been  resting  in  yonder 
grove  for  more  than  thirty  years,  but  she  was 
the  pioneer  of  the  highest  education  for  American 
women!  That  crown  belongs  to  her!  Others,  like 
Harriet  Hosmer,  have  handled  the  chisel,  like 
Marion  Mitchell,  the  telescope,  and  the  pen  like 
Mrs.  Stowe,  but  the  life  of  Mary  Lyon  was  an 
epic— an  added  verse  to  the  eleventh  chapter  of 
Hebrews.  She  was  a  heroine.  Not  only  did  she 
teach  her  pupils  the  higher  branches  of  litera- 
ture, but  she  taught  to  labor  and  to  pray,  'to 
suffer  and  be  strong.'  Scores  of  pastors'  wives 
have  been  trained  at  Holyoke,  and  more  than  sev- 
enty foreign  missionaries  have  already  gone  from 
her  classes. 

92 


"So  many  wives  and  daughters  of  missionaries 
were  present,  that  it  almost  seemed  like  a  meet- 
ing of  the  American  Board  —  and  all  through  the 
halls  and  art  galleries  was  breathed  a  gladsome 
spiritual  atmosphere.  I  visited  the  grave  in  the 
grove,  near  Williston  Hall.  Near  by,  was  a  tiny 
lake,  on  which  the  young  women  exercise  their 
muscles  with  the  oar.  A  well  -  developed  three 
hundred  they  were.  So  admirable  is  their  regi- 
men, that  there  has  not  been  a  death  in  the  in- 
stitution for  ten  years.  But  I  stood  by  the  mon- 
ument—  a  plain  block  of  marble!  I  read  the  in- 
scriptions, and  thought  of  the  motto  she  used  to 
give  to  her  graduating  classes :  '  When  you  choose 
your  fields  of  labor,  go  where  nobody  else  is  will- 
ing to  go.'  What  a  seed-corn  that  is,  for  holy 
consecration  to  Christ!  It  has  germinated  into 
some  of  the  noblest  lives  which  America  has  fur- 
nished. As  I  stood  there,  I  felt  the  same  thrill, 
as  when  I  stood  by  the  historic  hay-stack,  where 
the  American  Board  was  born." 


93 


XIIL 

ABIDING    INFLUENCES. 

Alumni  Associations,  in  different  parts  of  the 
country,  have  done  much  to  preserve  Miss  Lyon's 
influence.  A  few  of  the  testimonials  are  recalled, 
which  were  given  at  a  meeting  of  the  Northwestern 
Association,  held  at  the  Grand  Pacific  Hotel,  in 
Chicago. 

One  lady,  after  the  lapse  of  thirty  years,  says: 
"I  think  a  day  seldom  passes,  that  I  do  not  think 
of  Miss  Lyon."  Another,  after  the  expiration  of 
thirty-six  years:  "Her  teachings  are  still  invalu- 
able to  me,  and  more  and  more  as  age  advances." 
And  the  compiler  of  this  sketch,  after  fifty  years, 
can  bear  a  similar  testimony. 

Miss  Lyon  sent  but  one  book  to  the  publish- 
ers, but  she  wrote  many  in  the  hearts  of  her 
pupils.  One  says:  "Mount  Holyoke  Seminary 
seemed  to  me  a  memorial  of  prayer.  The  corner- 
stone would  never  have  been  laid  but  for  prevail- 
ing prayer.  The  study  of  "The  Word"  as  a  me- 

94 


dium  of  communication  with  God  is  well  presented 
in  another  extract. 

"  Mary  Lyon !  I  seem  to  see  her  coming  from 
her  room  to  Seminary  Hall,  Bible  in  hand,  her 
body  and  soul  aglow  with  light — every  act  pro- 
claiming, '  By  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  the  work  is  to 
be  done.'  Then  she  'opened  to  us  the  Scriptures, 
with  the  realization  of  a  great  heart." 

Another : 

"That  voice  so  touchingly  tender, 

Comes  down  to  me  thro'  the  years; 
A  pathos  seems  to  mingle 
Her  own,  with  her  Savior's  tears." 

"Her  own  large-hearted  benevolence  impressed 
her  pupils  through  the  whole  of  their  seminary 
course.  Thirty-five  years  have  passed,  since  I  looked 
upon  her  face.  Of  all  the  noble  band  of  women 
who  sat  on  either  side  of  her,  none  stand  out  quite 
so  distinctly  in  my  mind,  as  Lucy  Lyon  and  Fidelia 
Fiske.  Together,  they  embodied  my  ideas  of  Faith, 
Hope  and  Charity.  Miss  Fiske's  clear  tones  and 
patiently  waiting  manner  suited  well  her  name,— 
Fidelia.  Miss  Lucy's  force  and  buoyancy  placed 
her  second  in  my  group.  *  But  the  greatest  of  these 
is  Charity,'  and  Miss  Lyon,  greatest  of  American 
women,  crowns  with  beauty  all  my  remembrances." 

"She  wonderfully  impressed  us  all  with  the  value 

95 


of  time,  an  impression  which  has  remained  with 
me  through  all  the  years.  Who  could  forget  how 
she  would  sometimes  stand  at  the  table,  with  one 
hand  on  the  chair  of  a  delinquent  until  she  ap- 
peared, and  then  remark,  '  One  minute  lost  by  ninety 
persons,  makes  ninety  minutes  forever  gone.'  " 

"A  personal  centre  is  the  strongest  of  bonds, " 
and  this  was  proven  at  Mount  Holyoke.  When 
she  thought  occasion  called  for  it,  she  was  very 
sympathetic — shall  I  say  magnetic?" 

One  writes:  "I  had  greatly  desired  to  attend  the 
Seminary.  At  last,  the  way  was  opened,  and  I  was 
delighted.  But  I  soon  found  that  my  strength  was 
not  equal  to  the  appointed  tasks.  She  observed 
this,  and  in  regard  to  my  domestic  work,  which  I 
had  considered  very  light,  she  said,  'You  need  not 
do  it  any  more.  Instead  of  that,  you  may  do  a 
little  needle-work  for  me.'  But  my  health  con- 
tinued to  fail,  and  I  knew  I  must  go  home.  I  shall 
never  forget  the  tenderness  with  which  she  said, 
'I  know  it  is  a  great  disappointment  to  you,  but 
you  are  not  strong,  and  you  must  not  try  to  do 
great  things.  Just  creep  along  as  you  can— Jesus 
knows  all  about  it.'  This  I  have  been  trying  to 
do  ever  since,  and  yet  it  has  been  my  privilege  to 
do  something  for  the  Master,  of  which  this  is  not 
the  place  to  speak." 

96 


Should  any  one  say,  "This  was  an  exceptional 
case,'1  we  reply,  "It  certainly  was."  But,  we  ap- 
prehend, that  all  her  pupils  passed  before  her  kindly 
inspection  with  the  same  individuality. 

Take  another  case  of  a  different  kind.  One  of 
the  young  ladies  told  me,  that  she  was  standing 
by  a  window,  feeling  lonely  and  sad,  when  Miss 
Lyon,  passing  by,  said,  "I  think  you  want  to  see 
your  mother."  She  replied,  "I  have  no  mother." 
Miss  Lyon  put  her  arms  around  her,  and  said,  "I 
will  be  a  mother  to  you.  Come  to  me  at  any  time, 
as  you  would  go  to  her,  if  she  were  here." 

When  some  useless  fashion  appeared,  and  some 
of  the  young  ladies  returned  after  vacation,  having 
adopted  the  extreme,  her  surcharged  battery  of 
humor  sometimes  flashed  sallies  of  pleasantry,  very 
amusing.  Sarcasm  is  a  sharp  tool,  and,  in  her 
earlier  years,  she  sometimes  used  it,  to  eradicate 
follies ;  but,  regarding  it  as  liable  to  be  too  severe, 
she  laid  it  almost  entirely  aside,  in  riper  years. 

"She  indelibly  impressed  upon  us  the  power  of 
little  things,  the  multitude  of  apparent  trifles,  which 
in  most  cases  make  up  the  whole  of  life,  and  that 
the  secret  of  true  happiness  lies  in  forgetting  self 
and  living  for  others." 

Most  of  the  friction  in  society  comes  by  the  de- 
parture from  the  accepted  principles  of  action. 

97 


either  consciously  or  unconsciously,  from  selfish 
motives.  Miss  Lyon,  as  quoted  by  one,  puts  it  in 
this  way: 

"It  is  astonishing  how  many  favorite  children 
there  are,  and  for  how  many  reasons ;  one,  because 
she  is  the  only  child ;  another,  the  youngest  of  the 
family,  or  under  the  care  of  her  grandmother,  or 
her  name  is  Abbie!  Why,  it  would  not  be  strange 
if  some  of  you  had  been  favorites  of  somebody ! 
Now,  many  times  you  will  want  some  special 
privilege.  Just  ask  yourself,  candidly,  would  it  be 
reasonable  to  grant  this  to  a  hundred  others?  If 
not,  should  I  ask  for  it?"  But  here  it  should  be 
said,  that,  although  so  strenuous  in  regard  to 
general  principles,  no  one  could  be  more  ready,  for 
sufficient  reasons,  to  relax  the  home  laws. 

Her  law  was,  emphatically,  love. 


98 


XIV. 

MOUNT  HOLYOKE  COLLEGE. 

This  institution,  first  chartered  as  Mount  Hoi- 
yoke  Seminary,  was  begun  in  a  very  quiet  way, 
but  since  it  laid  the  foundation  of  all  American 
colleges  for  women,  the  significance  of  the  move- 
ment, will  never  be  known  until  the  history  of 
the  nations  shall  be  ended.  As  a  cultivator  of 
public  sentiment,  its  work  was  done  within  the 
first  half  century.  Not  only  had  similar  schools 
been  planted  all  over  our  own  country,  but  Eu- 
rope, Asia,  and  even  Africa,  had  small  centers 
from  which  like  influences  were  spreading.  Public 
sentiment  called  loudly  for  advantages  equal  in 
every  respect  to  those  offered  to  young  men— 
and  Vassar,  Wellesley  and  Smith,  with  their 
throngs  of  students,  witnessed  to  the  world,  that 
the  needs  of  woman  were  recognized  as  never 
before. 

The  question  whether  this  Seminary  should  be- 
come a  college  was  often  discussed.  Some  were 
too  conservative  to  favor  the  change.  They  said : 

99 


"Let  us  extend  the  course,  but  remain  a  Sem- 
inary." A  compromise  was  finally  made  and 
there  was  to  be  both  a  Seminary  and  a  Colle- 
giate course.  The  first  year,  out  of  three  hun- 
dred pupils,  only  eleven  belonged  to  the  collegi- 
ate department,  while  in  1892  only  eight  ap- 
plied for  the  seminary  course,  and  the  name  was 
changed  to  Mt.  Holyoke  College.  Thus  in  the 
face  of  opposition  the  problem  worked  itself  out. 
Shall  we  not  rather  say,  that  He  into  whose 
hands  the  founder  had  placed  it,  worked  out  her 
purpose,  that  here  should  be  given  the  highest 
education  ? 

The  Mary  Lyon  fund,  for  the  endowment  of 
the  President's  chair,  was  now  completed  and 
Miss  Elizabeth  Blanchard  who  had  been  for  five 
years  Principal  of  the  Seminary,  was  appointed 
Acting  President.  It  was  soon  evident  that  her 
health  was  failing,  and  a  leave  of  absence  was 
granted  for  the  following  year.  But  vigor  did 
not  return  and  she  died  in  Boston  November 
29th,  1891.  To  this  part  of  Christ's  vineyard 
she  had  given  the  best  years  of  her  life,  and  her 
memory  is  hallowed.  The  eyes  of  the  Trustees, 
then  turned  to  Miss  Brigham,  who  for  twenty 
years  had  been  Associate  Principal  of  the  Sem- 
inary on  Brooklyn  Heights.  Her  acceptance  gave 

100 


promise  of  a  bright  future,  but  a  railroad  disaster 
summoned  her  to  the  immediate  presence  of  the 
King. 

Miss  Louisa  Cowles,  Professor  of  Geology,  was 
requested  to  act  as  President  for  the  year.  Re- 
luctantly she  took  up  the  burden,  nobly  sustain- 
ed by  every  member  of  the  Faculty. 

In  the  early  part  of  that  year  occurred  the 
death  of  Miss  Lydia  Shattuck,  Professor  Emeri- 
tus of  Botany.  The  hundreds  who  had  filled  her 
classes  will  ever  keep  her  memory  green. 

In  the  spring  of  1890  the  announcement  was 
made  that  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Storrs  Mead  had  ac- 
cepted the  position  of  President.  Admirably  fit- 
ted by  native  gifts  and  broad  culture,  this  an- 
nouncement was  eagerly  received.  To  eleven  classes, 
her  husband,  as  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees, had  presented  the  diplomas  and  this  mem- 
ory added  interest  to  the  occasion  when  Mrs. 
Mead,  as  President,  performed  the  same  office. 

Great  advances  have  been  made  in  the  stand- 
ard of  scholarship — a  broad  range  of  elective 
studies  have  been  introduced,  also  what  is  known 
as  "The  Group  System,"  and,  in  the  judgment  of 
the  most  competent  persons,  Mount  Holyoke  Col- 
lege stands  to-day  in  the  front  rank  for  the  broad- 
est, noblest  culture  that  a  woman  can  secure. 

101 


Amid  all  that  is  new,  the  supreme  idea  of 
Mary  Lyon  permeates  every  fiber  of  the  institu- 
tion which  she  founded.  "  Holiness  to  the  Lord" 
is  still  the  motto  of  all  the  managers. 

Chiefly  from  The  Boston  Congregationalist  the 
following  section  is  abridged: 

On  the  27th  of  September,  1896,  the  Mount 
Holyoke  Seminary  was  destroyed  by  fire. 

Readers  of  the  morning  papers,  as  they  read 
the  headlines,  undoubtedly  paused  long  enough 
to  regret  this  loss  to  "The  Mother  of  Colleges.'* 

In  due  time  the  tidings  found  their  way  to 
her  graduates,  in  India,  Turkey,  China  and  Japan, 
to  the  Spanish  girls  at  San  Sabastian,  and  the 
American  schools  for  girls  on  the  shores  of  the 
Bosphorus;  wherever  Holyoke  women  were  hold- 
ing up  the  ideals  of  the  gospel.  Everywhere  a 
sense  of  bereavement  was  felt.  Many  students 
had  already  been  turned  away  for  want  of  room, 
and  this  edifice  had  so  many  cherished  associa- 
tions. Still,  it  was  but  one  of  a  group  of  more 
modern  buildings  that  had  grown  up  around  it. 

Dr.  Pearson,  a  princely  giver  to  educational  in- 
stitutions, had  offered  $50,000  for  an  endow- 
ment fund  on  condition  that  $150,000  more 
could  be  secured,  and  the  Alumni  Associations 
all  over  the  country  had  been  endeavoring  to  se- 

102 


cure  more  extensive  accommodations.  The  cor- 
respondence was  in  the  competent  hands  of  Miss 
Anna  C.  Edwards,  for  many  years  an  honored 
Associate  Principal,  and  of  Miss  Louisa  F. 
Cowles,  Secretary  of  the  National  Alumni  Asso- 
ciation. 

The  Lyman  Williston  Hall,  built  by  the  mu- 
nificence of  Mr.  Williston,  of  Northampton,  and 
the  Hall  of  Science,  dedicated  to  the  memory  of 
Miss  Shattuck,  had  already  been  erected,  as  also 
an  observatory  by  Mr.  Williston  in  memory  of 
his  son.  One  group  of  Alumni,  in  and  around 
New  York  and  Brooklyn,  had  expressed  their  de- 
termination to  build  a  Mary  Brigham  Hall.  But 
hitherto  the  majority  had  roomed  in  the  origin- 
al building.  What  could  be  done? 

Not  until  now,  did  they  know  the  breadth  of 
South  Hadley  hospitality.  The  relation  between 
the  "town  and  the  gown"  had  always  been 
pleasant,  but  now  one  after  another  came  for- 
ward, offering  to  take  from  one  to  a  dozen  to 
his  home,  and  soon  every  one  was  provided  for. 
Not  only  did  the  fire  reveal  the  hospitality  of 
the  people,  but  the  quality  of  the  girls. 

The  President  says:  "The  old  Mount  Holyoke 
spirit  of  unselfishness  seemed  to  animate  them 
all.  Even  the  exit  from  the  burning  building  was 

103 


not  so  much  a  flight  as  an  orderly  retreat.  There 
was  literally  no  panic  or  uproar,  and  no  one 
seemed  to  be  mourning  her  own  losses,  although 
in  some  cases  they  were  deprived  of  everything 
but  the  clothes  they  had  on. 

The  next  morning,  while  the  ruins  were  still 
smoking,  they  assembled  in  the  village  church, 
almost  as  calmly  as  though  they  had  been  in 
their  accustomed  place.  Mrs.  Mead  spoke  re- 
assuring words  and  when  the  roll  had  been  call- 
ed, the  college  spirit  broke  forth  in  the  song  be- 
ginning: "Holyoke,  oh,  Holyoke."  Every  one  felt 
thankful  that  the  library,  which  was  the  gift  of 
Mrs.  Durand,  of  Wellesley,  the  Williston  Hall, 
with  its  paintings  and  art  treasures,  the  Science 
Hall,  with  its  valuable  apparatus,  and  the  Ob- 
servatory, with  its  fine  telescope,  were  spared  to 
them,  and  all  the  classes  convened  as  usual  on 
the  following  day. 

The  Trustees  in  their  meeting  were  at  once  con- 
fronted with  the  question  whether  the  old  idea 
should  be  enshrined  in  one  structure,  large  enough 
to  shelter  the  entire  college,  or  the  more  modern 
plan  of  several  smaller  edifices  be  adopted?  They 
decided  on  the  latter,  not,  however,  to  lack  a  uni- 
fying center.  The  Administration  Building,  with 
the  Chapel,  which  will  be  known  as  Mary  Lyon 

104 


Hall,  will  be  central  in  the  group,  and  there  all  the 
common  interests  of  the  college  will  be  focused.  A 
recent  gift  of  twenty -five  acres  from  Hon.  E.  A. 
Goodnow,  of  Worcester,  Mass.,  affords  them  ample 
space  (the  grounds  now  containing  about  one  hun- 
dred acres),  and  a  noted  landscape  gardener  ensures 
a  picturesque  arrangement  and  the  preservation  of 
cherished  landmarks. 

Miss  Lyon's  monument,  surrounded  by  fine  old 
trees,  will  always  be  a  shrine,  before  which  many 
will  stand  with  bowed  heads  and  reverent  hearts, 
and  near  by  will  be  four  new  dormitories,  the 
Pearsons,  the  Rockefeller,  the  Safford  and  the  Por- 
ter, all  named  for  munificent  donors  to  the  insti- 
tution. 

There  will  be  a  new  Mount  Holyoke,  but  it 
will  never  part  company  with  the  old.  The  same 
ideals  prevail,  and  never  was  personal  influence 
more  effective  than  now.  Girls  will  come,  as  in 
days  gone  by,  to  be  instructed  in  earthly  lore 
by  the  most  competent  teachers,  and  will  learn 
at  the  same  time,  what  to  do  with  their  educa- 
tion when  they  get  it.  Simplicity  and  earnest 
purpose  will  continue  to  animate  the  life  within 
those  walls— and  the  graduates  of  the  future,  as 
those  of  the  past,  will  consecrate  the  ripe  and  beau- 
tiful fruits  of  their  training  to  the  service  of  others. 

105 


How  can  man  or  woman  of  wealth  better 
honor  the  Master  whom  they  love,  and  Mary 
Lyon,  his  faithful  servant,  than  by  speeding  the 
work  so  nobly  begun?  How  can  those  of  moder- 
ate resources  deny  themselves  the  privilege,  of 
smaller  gifts,  to  a  training  school,  which  so  nobly 
represents  the  ideals  upon  which  our  country  is 
dependent  for  its  safety. 


106 


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